Randahl FinkA society which cannot feed the poor, yet can afford a $ 250 million ballroom with gold decor, reveals that it is still stuck in a time period many developed nations have left decades ago.
everton137@randahl
Since I was very young, I never felt much admiration for the US. Their cultural influence always seemed overwhelming, maybe that’s one reason I became so drawn to classical music. Today, I can’t imagine living without it.
When I studied physics, I dreamed of earning a PhD in Europe. Why? I wanted to live somewhere where public transportation was the norm, not a privilege.
I was lucky to receive a scholarship that let me spend six months in a wealthy European city during my master’s program. I didn’t finish the degree, but that experience completely changed my life at 23.
I could never relate to friends who wanted to pursue their careers in the US. To me, it always felt like a wealthier version of Brazil. I visited them three times for work, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Sausalito, and the inequalities I’d grown up with were right there in front of me.
I’ve always found American patriotism somewhat suspicious. Maybe it’s a way to compensate for the country’s deep contradictions, to build a fantasy of greatness that so many, even abroad, even in Europe, end up believing in.
Pait