Kudos America

Forgive the rather redundant statement, but everything here is so fucking North American.  It's the culture of entitlement.  I paid for a drink; I deserve unlimited refills.  I deserve to be able to use my laptop on a plane.  I deserve in flight entertainment systems.  i deserve an airline that caters to my dietary needs, even though I gave no prior notice to them.  I deserve to supersize.  I deserve to tell you exactly how I want my order, but I won't make it myself.  I want my phone to work anywhere and everywhere I am.  I want to be able to plug in anywhere to recharge the battery.  My music and my movies should be accessible anywhere anytime on any medium.  Yes, this is the sentiment that equally leads the culture of suing and counter-suing.  It's like anarcho-capitalism on a practical level.  You have something I don't and I want, so I will bring you back down to the level of the common people by force.  Except I shall do it to such an outrageous and disproportionate level that it shall elevate me beyond the level where I need to worry about being dragged down myself, and your eternal soul will still be paying my ass off, regardless of who gets into heaven or hell.  But anyway...

 

I don't entirely consider this a bad thing.  I think it's this mentality in America that drives progress.  That is delivering 4G to us.  That has already conceived and mapped out 5G.  That pushes to work out how to maintain a consistent, high speed internet connection at 36000 feet.  That puts a satellite phone in every single seat even in economy class.  That says I want to seamlessly travel between the subway, the sidewalk, a concrete and steel frame building, an underground complex, an airport, a private boat off the coast, and still have all my technology work, and integrate perfectly with the outside world at times.  That provides an increasing number of cities with free, open access wifi networks over their entire metropolitan area.  I want twitter to track my location, whether I update it by email, text, web, api, or neurotransmitter.  I want to know exactly where all of my friends are.  I want to be able to cruise using my mp3 player.  I think America is driving force behind actually realising the filmic not-all-that distant future we see in Minority Report, I Robot, Star Trek, etc.  Not the companies, not the government, not the militaries; its nothing to do with the big bucks that actually finance the research.  The research is happening because every American believes that they have an indelible unalienable right to experience that future, for it to be now.

 

Kudos to America.  For better or worse.

 

 

Addendum:

You know what I've just realised.  If I end up going back to the US this year with the band tour, I'll be there for late Sept & October.  And Lifehouse are coming to London for the first time in 8 years on October 4th/5th.  Which I already have tickets to.  Both dates.  F.M.L.

 

Etiam Addendumque:

Chris told me I've half scuppered reasons to move to the US by falling for Terence.  Even on the West Coast, where there'd be about the same distance and cost to separate us, he says there's not enough international borders between us for him to be comfortable at that stage.   Heh.  :P