OTHER CULTURES BLOW MY MIND

It's been a while since I've posted. In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of traveling. I really couldn't come up with a better title. It says exactly what I mean: looking at other people and cultures has completely changed my perspective on my own culture.

My first travel was to Paris. One of the things that struck me, interestingly, are the women in that city, who I could only describe as "classy." (I'm going to try and keep this from sinking into adolescent sexuality, so bear with me :).) The women were beautiful, well put-together, but not that overt, over-the-top sense that you get here in America. The women managed to pull off being "sensual" and beautiful in their own right without overly revealing. They did so with respect for themselves and their bodies that I found inspiring (and, in no uncertain terms, appealing).

I don't really know a lot about sex and sexuality in French culture, I'll be honest, but I did find this particular revelation to be very telling. American culture regarding sex is paradoxical: on one hand, our sexuality is very overt, revealing, and is used to sell all sorts of things in a way that I sometimes consider vulgar; on the other hand, there's an ongoing tension with society being too tense surrounding sex (and I would add sometimes myself included), and that any sexuality outside of carefully constructed situations is wrong and improper. However, underlying both of these seemingly-contradictory positions is a basic lack of respect for the human body: in advertisements, the body is exploited to sell; in religious circles, the body is a "sin-machine" that must be controlled in order to be a "good person."

I found in French culture, the way the women dressed was very indicative of an underlying respect for themselves and their bodies, something very lacking in today's culture. I do believe any underlying problems with sex and sexuality in our society (and probably in any society) has to do with an underlying disrespect for one's own body, and on an individual level, unhealthy sexuality is borne out of a lack of respect for either oneself or one's partner. Obviously, this is very fluid definition; what constitutes respectful sexuality is beyond my ability to elucidate, but I understand what I means for my own life.

Traveling next to Amsterdam, I found the most remarkable thing of all: a culture that finally had it's priorities straight. Amsterdam was beautiful, clean, had an amazing public transport system, powered by windmills, legalized and regulated drugs and prostitution, and managed to get the things working that needed to work, and chose not to waste money on things that aren't that important.

I don't mention these things because I'm some kind of raging pot-head or sexual deviant. I mentioned these things because I think these are the types of things our country is spending way too much time and money on, reducing the priorities of more important things, like promoting a good environment, a good education system, and an altogether more comfortable culture to live in. The people in Amsterdam are not uptight about the things that are legal in their country. They managed to put bicyclists, cars, trams, and pedestrians on the street together without having a ridiculous number of accidents and injuries (even with all the stoned foreigners wandering about). That alone is an achievement in itself.

Granted, I don't know a whole lot about the spending of the government. I do know they do spend a lot more money on harm reduction techniques and less money prosecuting harmless marijuana users. Basically, they care about the things that will make their country a better place, without getting all wrapped up in inflicting their individual morals on the populace.

Compare this to Italy, where I am now. Where the Dutch care about some things and don't care about others, the Italians don't give a shit about ANYTHING. This is the reason my internet doesn't run well, the government collapses every few months, and generally, the country is behind the rest of the industrialized world. It does have it's positive benefits: people sit in cafes and relax, take midday siestas, and generally just seem less worried about things. I think the Italians are generally a relaxed and laid back group of people, with I appreciate and respect to the utmost degree, but when that relaxation gets in the way of your country running smooth, then there's a problem. I think that would be my major criticism of this country: nothing runs well.

Obviously, this is just a brief summary of some the things I've seen. It's hard to put it all down in one place, but it gives you a completely new perspective when you see how other people do things. It's unfortunate that such a small percentage of the American population go abroad (granted, it's a lot more difficult for Americans to go to European countries than for Europeans to go to other European countries), but I think they might look at their own country, culture, and even their own lives differently if they managed to see how other people do it.

P.S. I don't claim to think the Dutch are perfect. I like their model the best so far, given my initial impressions of their lifestyle, but they, like every country, probably have things they need help on. For example, I don't understand the Dutch's constant desire to publish art so severely attacking Islam. The recent online release of Geert Wilders' video comparing Islam to Nazism seems simplistic and unnecessary. Regardless, my initial impression of their government and culture was very positive.