RANDOM THOUGHTS AND UPDATES


While waiting in O'Hare for my flight to leave about ten days ago, I remember overhearing a conversation between the two men who were standing behind me. They were middle age, a safe prediction would be late 30's to early 40's, and, I assume, based on the destination that their business was military/contractor related. Germany currently has some 75,000 American troops listed as active in the country. Anyway, the dialogue went something like this (we'll call these guys Steve and Dale) :

Steve- I'll tell you what though, I've done a significant amount of travelling and America is by far the best country.

Dale- Well, a lot of people would like you to think we're so bad. I mean the media is just so dog-gone liberal.

Steve- That's why we get such a skewed perception of who we are. I only watch Fox News anymore and they tend to get it right occassionally. The media's got a clear agenda.

Dale- That's right, it's hard to find a fair news source anymore.


This set my mind to wonder, "What does "best" mean?" When these guys talk about the "best" country, are they really saying "most familiar", or even maybe "most irresponsible?"

After spending a few days in Heidelberg, it was quite refreshing to see a city where nearly everything was accessible by using a bicycle. It wasn't necessary to have a performance mountain bike, I was actually equipped with an old Amsterdam style cruiser. That seemed "better" than cities in America. Even Chicago has plenty of bike paths, but several people I know who have lived there were hit by cars. I wouldn't yet call Chicago a "bike-friendly" city.

Any insight on these queries would be helpful. Why do American's always talk about being "the best?" And what does that mean? I have some ideas, but as you already know, I could be dead wrong.