Quote:
Originally Posted by PyramidsofMars
No, not stupid. Just
a) apathetic
b) disengaged
c) lazy
d) culturally-cannibalistic (feeding on the old rather than creating and supporting the new... and what new there was tended to be merely a reappropriation of the old with a 'post-' disclaimer placed before it)
some of the most intelligent people I've ever met fit all those labels. Which makes it all the more depressing.
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You seem to be of the mindset that Culture has a strict definition and that by ticking off boxes a place becomes more Cultured.
The issue is that you have an image of culture that is defined by your ideals. Having old Roman Collesiums, intelligent philosophical discussions, high population densities leading to more interactions amoung people on a daily basis.
So when you come to a Culture that is different that initially was founded on wide open prarie and a railway rather than a viable water supply in a desert you are going to get a different culture.
As well your complaints of a lack of intelligent bar conversations meaning we are devoid of culture rings hollow to me. The Booze/Club culture that infueses North American society is niether better nor worse then intelligent conversation. It just is.
The Burb culture is part of the connection to the land where everyone wants to own something. So just because you don't find the affects particularly stimulating doesn't mean it isn't culture.
We also have a significant Outdoors culture, a need to escape the city and try to find our own solitary place. You see this in all of the camping, hiking, fishing and hunting that goes on.
So I believe that your statements of Apethetic, Disengaged, etc are false. We have a different culture no better no worse. Perhaps a better word would be that our culture is more individualistic and that can be explained quite simply by our history.