The best women golfers in the world are in Europe right now. They're in Evian-Les-Bains, a magically beautiful place between the shores of Lake Geneva and the towering peaks of the French Alps, getting ready for this week's the Evian Masters.
We'll be talking about this popular tournament in the the first part of our show tonight... as well the recent Open Championship and the upcoming Ricoh Women's British Open. And because it's being talked about so much lately, we'll also touch upon the increasingly global nature of professional golf.
Which leads us to the second part of our show and our topic: Are Americans Puritanical? And consequently, is "the-rest-of-the-world" much more open-minded and enlightened than we yanks are? That's what I'll be asking on the show tonight, inspired by the current international golf events and and by an experience I had over this past weekend. We were in New York City for a dinner party on Saturday, at the new home of my college roommate, who originally comes from Denmark. She's lived in the US since she met her American husband here over a decade ago, and they recently bought an awesome UWS duplex. This was a housewarming of sorts.
Both Britta and David have international jobs; she works fora UN Agency and he's with an international bank. As a result their guests were from all over the globe. In fact, of the 16 of us, only four... including myself and our host... were US natives. The other two Americans were guys... one married to a Colombian and the other to a Russian... while my husband Nick, as you may already know, is French. There was also a British couple and a Swiss couple... and rounding out the multifarious mix, a Jordanian with his Finnish fiancee and an Italian whose date was from Singapore.
Everyone's English was quite fluent... made more so by the copious cocktails and excellent wine... and there was a lot of light-hearted banter about the cultural nuances expats encounter when living in the US. After dinner as we sipped coffee and Courvoisier, David... who tends to get very That's what we'll be talking about tonight on "Only Two Things". We'll be broadcasting from 9:30 - 10:30PM ET. And you can weigh in, on-air by using call-in number 917-889-9592. Or join the conversation in the chat room or on Twitter... or just listen at BlogTalkRadio. Talk to you tonight.
Why don't I get invited to any parties like that? It sounds like the men and the women were actually together, discussing something. Our evenining always end up with the girls in kitchen and the guys in the family room. Like Mars & Venus under one roof. :(
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's better that way Ash, believe me. ;)
ReplyDeleteI lived in Sweden for two years and almost married a Swede. I just couldn't adapt. The plain truth is that we tend to be much more materialistic over here. And I think we have a culture where if your rich you can do anything you want (celebs) and it's fine but it you're a normal person everyone judges you. Should be an interesting show.
ReplyDeleteAmerican = Gold Digger
ReplyDeleteExacerbate the Woods scandal? That's a joke, right? Woods himself blew the idea out of the water by the sheer magnitude of his actions. This wasn't exactly a fling.
ReplyDeleteI personally hope he regains his form, just to watch golf at the highest level, and had little interest in his transgressions, but once they were public they became the elephant in the room. Any implication that our American Puritanism had any effect on the perception of Woods is laughable. Find a better example.
I don't think Americans are puritanical.
ReplyDeleteHypocritical, judgmental, holier-than-thou, yes, but puritanical? Not necessarily.
Let's use the Tiger example. From my perspective, the only people whose business it was that he was having an affair/affairs were him, his wife and their familiies. And that's it.
Instead, what we got was a media lynch-mob mentality of judgment, holier-than-thouness, and hypocrisy. And sadly, that is the way parts of America are. Even more sad, I don't see it changing anytime soon.
Yes it's definitely interesting. To AG's point, I was simply reiterating a sentiment I heard from the international group at the party. They maintained that if the Tiger scandal had happened in Europe... it would have not have taken on so much importance, because no one would have been dwelling on it. The mentioned Mitterand vs Clinton... and Thomas Bjorn vs Tiger Woods... to show that sex scandals are just more interesting to Americans because of their... puritaninism. :O\
ReplyDeleteGood point. Sure there's some truth there. Still, Woods' "accomplishments" would raise a very large eyebrow even on Mars.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleterobert stoller should be alive today and be on your show
you won't really know how puritanical the US is until you travel abroad
sex is only sex for the most part in much of the rest of the world
leave it to US here to mess that up
yes, outside our "closed doors" were are inhibited and hypocritical and behind the learning curve in many respects when compared to other more worldly and free places - we only want to hang our clean laundry out on the line
on the other hand, i see much more promise in our next generation and i am encouraged by their outlook and realistic expectations (and i am dating as many of them as i can - LOL)
there is something about being able to speak multiple languages and knowing as close friends people from other countries and exploring international customs and being exposed to their ways
there is more to life beyond macdonalds and coca-cola and paris hilton and iphones etc
anyway have a good show
frankD
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ReplyDeleterobert stoller should be alive today and be on your show
you won't really know how puritanical the US is until you travel abroad
sex is only sex for the most part in much of the rest of the world
leave it to US here to mess that up
yes, outside our "closed doors" were are inhibited and hypocritical and behind the learning curve in many respects when compared to other more worldly and free places - we only want to hang our clean laundry out on the line
on the other hand, i see much more promise in our next generation and i am encouraged by their outlook and realistic expectations (and i am dating as many of them as i can - LOL)
there is something about being able to speak multiple languages and knowing as close friends people from other countries and exploring international customs and being exposed to their ways
there is more to life beyond macdonalds and coca-cola and paris hilton and iphones etc
anyway have a good show
frankD
.
ReplyDeletemaybe this says it ALL -
the only GUY i know with MORE confirmed girlfriends than Tiger has alleged had is Silvio Berlousconi (who BTW is 74 and happens to be the current prime minister of italy)
oh yeah, the average age of silvio's conquests is 28 - which is why i drink a lot of italian red wine ! LOL
anyway be well
frankD
Trying to categorize all Americans as anything is kind of silly to me. Some folks may be "puritanical," others may be quite the opposite, but we are all allowed to have our own opinions and outlooks on life.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should not try to be "un-puritanical" because it's not considered "cool" by others. Be who you are and accept others for who they are. But be kind and try not to intentionally hurt people. That's where Mr. Woods screwed up. IMHO.