Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(October 2003)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Humour And History
To finish this newsletter on a high note, I am including
three articles that have recently crossed my desk. The
first two articles came from correspondent John in Canada,
and the third one came from Peter, a local Southern California
ex-Brit friend.
Note: I think that the three articles from unknown authors
are worthy of publication, so here goes.
1) Cultural differences explained.
-
Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies, (Brits),
when abroad.
Canadians: Are rather indignant about being mistaken for Americans abroad.
Americans: Encourage being mistaken for any one else when abroad.
Brits: Cannot
be mistaken for anyone else when abroad.
-
Aussies: Believe you should look
out for your mates.
Brits: Believe that you should look out for those people
who belong to your club.
Americans: Believe that people
should look out for, and take care of, themselves.
Canadians:
Believe that's the government's job.
-
Americans: Will
jabber on incessantly about football, baseball,
and basketball.
Brits: Will jabber incessantly
about cricket, soccer, and rugby.
Canadians: Will jabber
on incessantly about hockey, and how they beat the
Americans twice playing baseball.
Aussies: Will jabber on incessantly
about how they beat the Pommies in every sport they
play them in.
-
Brits: Shop at home and have goods
imported because they live on an Island.
Aussies: Shop at home and have goods imported
because they live on an Island.
Americans: Cross their Southern border for cheap
shopping, (gas and liquor), in a backward country.
Canadians: Cross their Southern border for cheap shopping,
(gas and liquor), in a backward country.
-
Americans:
Drink weak pissy-tasting beer.
Canadians:
Drink strong pissy-tasting beer.
Brits: Drink warm beer-tasting
piss.
Aussies; Drink anything with alcohol in it.
-
Americans:
Seem to think that poverty and failure are morally
suspect.
Brits: Seem to believe that wealth,
poverty, success, and failure are inherited things.
Canadians:
Seem to believe that wealth and success are morally
suspect.
Aussies: Seem to think that none of this matters
as long as there is plenty of beer.
Comment: Sorry guys these are not my words - I just
though that they may amuse some and maybe disgust others.
2) What makes a Brit.
The Scots keep the Sabbath and anything else they can
lay their hands on.
The Welsh pray on their knees and
on their neighbours.
The Irish do not know what they
want but are prepared to die fighting for it.
The English consider themselves a race of self-made men thus relieving the
Almighty of an awesome responsibility.
Comment: One more time, I do not accept the blame for
these somewhat sacrilegious musings.
3) The fall of the Athenian Republic.
At about the time that America's original thirteen States
adopted their new constitution in 1787, a Scottish history
Professor by the name of Alexander Tyler said this about
"The fall of the Athenian Republic" which was over
2,000 years prior to the institution of the American
Constitution.
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of
government. It can only exist until the voters discover
that they can vote themselves largesse, (generous benefits),
from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always vote for
the candidates promising the most benefits from the public
treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses
over loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by
a dictatorship.
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred
years.
These nations have progressed through the following sequence: From bondage
to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency
to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence back into bondage".
My comments:
I'm afraid that I have not had the time to research whether the good Professor
Alexander Tyler ever existed, and therefore I'm not in a position to verify
with any degree of accuracy that he actually wrote these illuminating words
of wisdom.
But if he, or whom-so-ever, penned these words we are indeed indebted to the
clarity of thought expressed in this article.
If these words have any significant substance, I would
suggest that the citizens of America beware the perils
that may face us in the very near future, as we currently
appear to be in the, "From abundance to complacency stage",
of the progressive series.
Wonder how long it will take us to reach the final "dependence back into bondage"
stage of our progression.
Relevant Information.
I was so enthralled
when I obtained the musings of Scottish History Professor
Alexander Tyler, that I decided to do some brief research
into the history of the "Athenian
Republic". Unfortunately my research failed to find any
information regarding the background of Professor Tyler.
It would of course take me many years of study to be
able to give you even a very brief history of the Greek
civilization, as people settled the area many thousands
of years BC. Just to give you an idea of the task that
I would be faced with I will just go back as far as first
century BC, which was the most famous period for the
Greek civilization and has been named the "Classical
Age", (500BC---323BC), during
which the Greeks reached their pinnacle of prosperity
and produced amazing cultural accomplishments. They shared
traditions of language, religion, customs, treasured
the freedom to govern themselves, and something that
we in our modern society all know of, their initiation
of the "Olympic
Games".
Greece was renowned principally for its knowledge of philosophy, architecture,
drama, government and science. Modern day democratic nations of this world
owe their own fundamental principles to ancient Greece, for it was there that
democracy was said to have originated. Do I have to go any further in order
for you to see what a monumental task it would be to even try to describe such
a great civilization in a matter of a few words.
We welcome feedback about any of the contents
of these newsletters. Please send all correspondence to
bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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