The American Spirit
Here's a great excerpt from an article in the Economist on why Americans need to cheer up this holiday season. Ivy and I have always loved this magazine because of their very dry British humor. Also, because it's a non-American magazine, they often have great insights that we wouldn't pick up on ourselves:
"The Spirit of Christmas.
Americans are in a funk. They should cheer up a bit
“DUMB and Dumber”, one of the modern classics of American comedy, tells the story of an affable idiot, Lloyd Christmas, who falls in love with a classy beauty, Mary Swanson. In one scene he asks her the chances of “a guy like you and a girl like me” ending up together. The answer is “Not good”. “Not good like one out of a hundred?” asks Lloyd. “More like one out of a million,” Mary replies. Lloyd pauses for a moment, then shoots back, “So you're telling me there's a chance?”
That is the American spirit. Americans have traditionally been much more optimistic than Europeans, and happier too. They believe that people determine their own destinies rather than being the mere playthings of fate. They also believe that their children will have a better life than they do."