One of the strongest cultural myths for America is that of the Wild West. Without arguing about how much of the myth is based on fact or not, I think it's fair to state that in the 20th century many or most males grew up with a cowboy role in their heads.
Ride into town, reluctantly kill all the Bad Guys, bed the girl, then ride off into the sunset.
That's an iconic American Hero. We have others - policeman, fireman, astronaut, inventor, etc., but they are all in some small way parallel to the Cowboy, and they are all demonstrably positive - conquering things that need to be conquered (Evil, the Unknown) and/or rescuing things that need to be rescued (the Innocent).
Now, I am often surprised by Europeans (for instance) who will one minute dismiss Americans as nothing but ignorant cowboys and the next minute act shocked and dismayed that we are acting as -gasp- cowboys! It's kinda funny.
I mean, we're not that hard to figure out. You got it pretty much right the first time - WE ARE COWBOYS AT HEART. We like it that way. It makes us bold and heroic and decisive and somewhat tragic, and brings with it not a little naivete. I mean after all, no one in the last town thanked us (except The Girl) when we killed all their Bad Guys, why would we possibly expect anything different in the next town?
So as I opened with above, I am curious. What do folks around the globe think about your own cultural mythos? What are they? How do they shape you and your country?
-dale
Ride into town, reluctantly kill all the Bad Guys, bed the girl, then ride off into the sunset.
That's an iconic American Hero. We have others - policeman, fireman, astronaut, inventor, etc., but they are all in some small way parallel to the Cowboy, and they are all demonstrably positive - conquering things that need to be conquered (Evil, the Unknown) and/or rescuing things that need to be rescued (the Innocent).
Now, I am often surprised by Europeans (for instance) who will one minute dismiss Americans as nothing but ignorant cowboys and the next minute act shocked and dismayed that we are acting as -gasp- cowboys! It's kinda funny.
I mean, we're not that hard to figure out. You got it pretty much right the first time - WE ARE COWBOYS AT HEART. We like it that way. It makes us bold and heroic and decisive and somewhat tragic, and brings with it not a little naivete. I mean after all, no one in the last town thanked us (except The Girl) when we killed all their Bad Guys, why would we possibly expect anything different in the next town?
So as I opened with above, I am curious. What do folks around the globe think about your own cultural mythos? What are they? How do they shape you and your country?
-dale
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