Mq, you are in rare, fine form today.
As a child who lived most of the year in Mexico, spending time sporadically in the States, I vividly recall the culture shock I had when I crossed the border. Most it resulted from a straightforward attack on my senses.
The first thing that struck me on arrival was the gawd-awful noise. More klaxons, beeps, burps, groans, sirens, loudspeakers, radios, sales pitches, shouting, jet engines, etc., than my young ears could handle. After living in a small quiet Mexican city, the din and the roar was impossible to take. And this was 35 years ago!
I cannot possibly imagine making the same transition now. The folks blasting rap "music" through their cars at 112 dbs. on full bass power would have caused me to have a sensory breakdown. This beastly shouting masquerading as music is incomprehensible to me, but I understand a lot of it is aggressive, exploitative of women, pandering of violence, etc., certainly not the kind of thing I would use music for.
Thre first American meal I ate upon arrival was the second attack on my sensory system. Having gotten used to freshly squeezed orange juice from really heavenly oranges, the first taste of diluted orange froth from concentrate was like drinking liquid cardboard. Also horrible were the so-called tomatoes with their genetically engineered thick skins, "lemons", and the general lack of flavoring to the typical American meal.
I have no doubt that US residents of a certain age went through the sensory deprivation/shock I did as a youngster. Unlike theirs, which proceeded gradually, mine was exacerbated by the fact that it was immediate and jolting.
But I digress from the foreign affairs strictures imposed on this board. I do not wish to be banned.
Your complaint is not with the US but with the breakdown of classic 17th and 18th century cultural values we both hold dear. In a sense, it is very much the same complaint the Islamists make. More broadly, it is the same fight between so-called progress and the past which has raged since time began.
It is also a battle between the young and the old, but that aspect is not on topic on this board. |
