Date: Fri, 06 Jul 2001 20:50:28 +0100
Subject: Two things endlessly fascinate me about the USA 


Eric and All


> Here's just a few comments echoing back on your comments. I think it was
> Don who wrote a while back that there seems to be a cultural difference
> between America and Europe on the question of relgion.

Two things endlessly fascinate me about the USA -

There is the question about religion in all its variations - over the years
all the americans I have known have always had a much stronger and positive
relationship to religion and questions of the spirit than I and indeed most
europeans have.  Even european christian fundementalists, whilst usually
crazier than the US equivilants I have known, are more constrained by their
isolation.

The second question is related to the difference in faciality - it is
extraordinary how unreadable and blank and the americans' face is - (gender
and race do not influence this) - the language comes out but the face is
unreadable. It is easier to understand the broken english and read the face
of a Gypsy who has been expelled from Kosovo by Albanians than it is to
understand the faciality of a Texan I have spent 30 hours in meetings and
twelve hours in various bars....


regards

sdv