...

remember once in a while that George W. Bush is not synonymous with "America" and imperialism/colonialism is not synonymous with "America" and McDonald's is not synonymous with "America."

I agree. But it's hard to get away from symbolic capital when that capital is always on export. There are as Joe Zitt said a lot of diverse food cultures in the states, music, art (Patrice is totally right in suggesting that US art has been dominant over the past 50 odd years), film, etc.

I would never presume to make authoritative statements on the state of American culture. Corporatization, gentrification, commodification, cooptation...I'd have to be an expert in sociology, business patterns, world affairs etc. to form a truly informed thesis on what's wrong with America. The only thing I can say in regards to this is that Sacramento, CA is very different New York City. We can't even stop Target, In-N-Out etc sprawling everywhere. It's very disheartening. I was the first generation born here and comparing the two cultures, the American culture is rather isolatory and empty, feels almost like no culture at all, just fleeting pop references to get you to spend money. America may have pockets of thriving arts communities and subcultures but they are usually marginalized and by the time they bubble to the surface, all meaning has been stripped away. The Vietnamese culture is different. While at times restrictive and even oppressive, the customs and tradition have a feeling of bringing people together. Culturally, I am more American than Vietnamese...when people point out the emptiness of American culture, I can't help but agree. John Zorn may or may not be a genius but is it really culture? America is such a fast-moving country, nothing has a chance to really take hold long enough to cultivate into meaningful culture. Even something as universally acknowledged as jazz feels like nothing more than Muzak for commercials, malls, etc. Sorry about the long-winded, non-intellectual rant. It's just how I feel about the matter. I don't think America's evil or anything, just deeply flawed, maybe moreso than other countries but only because of the position and potential it has. --davy, apologies to those who are tired of this subject...the digests are a little slow in coming _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com