Sherwood
Headphoneus Supremus
This is an astonishing display of elitism and self-loathing going on here.
Listen, the answer has already been given more than once, and it's in evidence everywhere, not just America. America happens to be a country of 300 million people and the wellspring of international culture, though, so it serves as a good example.
Lets line these things up:
Myth 1: Europeans walk more. I hear this all the time from Americans who spend a few weeks in major European cities that have central transportation plans that are more than 500 years old. Sure, some Europeans walk plenty, but it's hardly some magic European constant. People who don't live in major urban areas with public transportation still drive cars.
Myth 2: Americans are lazy. This is patently untrue. Americans work more hours, with fewer vacation days, than most of the EU. Europeans aren't lazy, either, for that matter. You don't build a hegemon out of laziness.
Myth 3: Europe isn't fat. I'll let you take one guess at the nation with the highest rate of obesity, per capita, in the world. That's right, the US. Wanna know who's second? France.
There's one definitive causality here: meal habits.
When I lived in Turkey, I spent two hours a night eating dinner. Dinner was huge, bigger than anything I would normally eat in the States, but I lost weight consistently.
If American culture valued mealtime the same way as traditional European culture does, Americans would, on the whole, be in better physical shape. American culture, however, is different. Everywhere in Europe that adopts a more American attitude towards work and life sees an increase in productivity at the expense of things like meal time and passive physical fitness.
I love living in Europe, which I do about half the time, but try as I may I can't live like a European in America. C'est la vie.
P.S. thanks for the foodie link. No matter what country I'm in, I love me some good food.
Listen, the answer has already been given more than once, and it's in evidence everywhere, not just America. America happens to be a country of 300 million people and the wellspring of international culture, though, so it serves as a good example.
Lets line these things up:
Myth 1: Europeans walk more. I hear this all the time from Americans who spend a few weeks in major European cities that have central transportation plans that are more than 500 years old. Sure, some Europeans walk plenty, but it's hardly some magic European constant. People who don't live in major urban areas with public transportation still drive cars.
Myth 2: Americans are lazy. This is patently untrue. Americans work more hours, with fewer vacation days, than most of the EU. Europeans aren't lazy, either, for that matter. You don't build a hegemon out of laziness.
Myth 3: Europe isn't fat. I'll let you take one guess at the nation with the highest rate of obesity, per capita, in the world. That's right, the US. Wanna know who's second? France.
There's one definitive causality here: meal habits.
When I lived in Turkey, I spent two hours a night eating dinner. Dinner was huge, bigger than anything I would normally eat in the States, but I lost weight consistently.
If American culture valued mealtime the same way as traditional European culture does, Americans would, on the whole, be in better physical shape. American culture, however, is different. Everywhere in Europe that adopts a more American attitude towards work and life sees an increase in productivity at the expense of things like meal time and passive physical fitness.
I love living in Europe, which I do about half the time, but try as I may I can't live like a European in America. C'est la vie.
P.S. thanks for the foodie link. No matter what country I'm in, I love me some good food.
