Hacker News Reader

U.S. culture, at least its inception, is best viewed through a lens of reacting to European culture. Especially in an intellectually-driven anti-aristocratic way. Not the populist anti-aristocratic way of the French Revolution that followed the American Revolution.

That pattern seems to repeat itself as an anti-globalist revolution in the present, and one closer to the French Revolution in some aspects.

View on HN

US culture is driven by lack of social interaction. People in rural areas have few interactions with others and don't like rules that limit their own immediate freedoms (to not wear masks, to discriminate, etc.) to keep society safe and in harmony. Due to this effect, older big cities are more "European," newer cities are less "European," and outside of cities, you'll see a lot more people range from "but my freedoms" to actively antisocial.

Here, I'm using "European" in the "Western European" sense like you presumably are. Eastern Europeans have an anti-Communist bent that resembles rural Americans' behavior.

Depends on how you're slicing "interactions", especially considering the internet.

Evangelicals are highly into their churches, which tend to fly below the analytic radar.

And surprise the "experts" at election time.

Hmm, I will have to keep this in mind.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com