Originally posted by superunknown
Thats the very problem, you see. Its all about the biggest, the largest and the greatest. Doesn't allways work that way you know.
When I was in New York I stepped into what was said to be the the largest cathedral in the world, or something like that. It was a modern cathedral trying to look old. But I wasn't impressed. All I remember about it was that it didn't smell right. So what if it is the largest in the world? It still doesn't smell the way the old european ones do. The smell of the Old World.
With you americans its allways about the biggest. Yes, sure you have the largest universities, but it doesn't matter when there are universities in Sweden that are several centuries older than your very nation.
Dont get me wrong, I have respect for everything you mentioned, and the Smithsonian in particular, its just that there is a world outside america too.
I believe americans have a hard time understanding europeans, and vice versa, but that dont mean we have to hate each others guts. We should, as you say, try to get along.