The Narcissism of Small Differences
It's an authentic American cultural tradition to descend into collective hysteria about race relations every few years. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, but it's wise to remember this: If you take any two Americans of any race and drop them into a crowded Karachi-Calcutta third-class mail train compartment together, they'll form an instant alliance. That would be why the army is America's most successful example of racial integration.
Perhaps this seems more obvious to me than it does to most because I tend to find myself in places where Americans are fairly rare. But really, Americans who encounter each other in remote places act like dogs meeting in Central Park. They do not think, "Hey, I'm a Schnauzer and you're a border collie." They think "Another dog like me! Another dog like me!"
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Oct '10
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
Great points, Claire! From a cat person with a long-coat Chihuahua.
Apr '12
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
As an immigrant, I go to a New Comers group with bridge club, film group, book club. Yet I have lived in Canada for decades. I am more at home with others who have travelled. The Newcomers Club is full of travelled immigrants and that is a big bond.
Mar '11
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
Tabula: I strongly agree with you that this fabric of shared values is fraying, that has been for some time, and that it is a disaster. In no small part it is due to the dearth of anything resembling proper civic education today.
Jun '10
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
Crow's Nest
Tabula: I strongly agree with you that this fabric of shared values is fraying, that has been for some time, and that it is a disaster. In no small part it is due to the dearth of anything resembling proper civic education today. · 2 hours ago
Amen. The liberals don't want us "brainwashing" our children and immigrants to believe that we live in the greatest country on earth (no matter which sub-categories we may occupy). But we do, and it's sad that we don't shout it from the rooftops.
Jul '10
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
The race mongers were so panicked they started fussing almost immediately about the picture of the firemen hoisting the flag at ground zero because there were no blacks in the picture. What vile little fascist toads.
Aug '10
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
Now if we can find some salve in that, we can create a prophylactic for the near future. Obama's five-part mini-series " Race War " debuts soon. Originally titled " Class War " , lack of sponsors forced rewrite, but no cast changes.
Edited on April 9, 2012 at 3:49amAug '10
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
It's a uniquely American thing because America is a unique country: it's an ideology, not a nation-state in the old mold.
There is no "American race". You're an American if you believe in the creed and chase the dream, not if your parents happened to be of a specific ethnicity. This lets us argue vehemently about skin color like a bunch of idiots without breaking up the "us", because Americans recognize the "them" we are supposed to be versus is everyone who doesn't sing the praises of the founding documents and ideals.
Geography, also, is merely incidental. Take those two American ex-pats in the Thai bar. Transplant the entire bar wholesale into a NYC suburb, and suddenly the Thais aren't the basis for a bonding experience. It's just another cool hole-in-the-wall place you discovered where you can hang out with your friends.
Oct '10
Re: The Narcissism of Small Differences
With the exception of Barak Obama. He has the moral authority to tell fellow African Americans something like this:
But that would require Obama to care more about the country than he does about himself. I’d like to ask Attorney General Holder exactly why he concludes it’s us who lack courage when it comes to race, as opposed to his boss.