Maciamo said:
Let's also note the common use of gangsters and criminals in the US military for their "killing talents", and the way they can pass from notorious criminals to national heroes - something mostly unheard of in Europe. The US government has even used this tactics in post-war Japan to fight communism by forgiving and rehabilitating convicted war criminals and yakuza leaders (some even became Prime Ministers with the support of the US, like Kishi Nobusuke).
I have to agree with most of your differences, however I strongly disagree with the above statement. Perhaps in the past (WWII, Korean Conflict or Viet Nam) the American military would accept people who had criminal records, but I can tell you that it is not so today. Someone with any sort of conviction for a violent crime is prevented from serving in any branch of the military. Many other minor criminal charges that don't include violence will also prevent a person from joining.
Back when I was a young man if an adolescent or young military age adult committed a crime (not necessarily violent) such as public drunkeness, driving while under the influence, possession of marijuana or petty theft, a judge might give them the option of "joining the military or going to prison." That does not happen now, I know for a fact (since it was my cousin's son) that a youngster that commits any of the above crimes has to undergo strict counciling and screening before any branch of the US military will accept them as a recruit. Drug and alcohol screening for 6 months, daily reporting to recruiters office for training and a nightly curfew. After they are accepted into the military if they repeat their bad behaviour they are discharged without a second thought.
Don't confuse movies like the "Inglorious Basterds", "the Dirty Dozen", "Rambo" or the "A-Team" with fact they are fictional and would have happened even during WWII.
Don't believe too much of what you see of American culture from the media, for the most part many Americans are as deeply shocked and sickened by the boorish behaviour usually associated with being an American.
Cambria Red said:
I live part of the year in Northern Virginia and I can tell you that the region is far different than the rest of the southern states. Virginia is changing rapidly, demographically and culturally and will soon be much more northeastern in flavor.
Texas, unfortunately, is as pretty rough place culturally and socially. Like much of the south, various parts of it are backward on any number of levels. It has some of the worst educational and health care statistics in the U.S. Despite its relative wealth, Texas is considered by more enlightened Americans as one big socio-cultural backwater.
I'll agree with you about Northern Virginia, it has completely lost any typical "Southern Flavor" it has throughly been inundated by rude and insensitive NE types. You have to go south of Richmond to find Virginia with a southern flavor.
I strongly disagree with you about Texas being seen as a socio-cultural backwater. Texas has historically been a place for immigrants to go to and live. Germans, Dutch, English, Czech, Wendish and Polish communities thrived in Central Texas in the late 19th and early 20th century. There is still a large amount of cultural diversity in Texas from various groups of European immigrants. The small town I grew up in was a cultural melting pot of Czech, German and Polish families. I could walk down the street and hear conversations in all three languages. Those older immigrants have died off and been replaced by thier English speaking children, but much of their European cultural heritage is still found in the food, music and accents of their descendants. Recent a large non-English speaking population of immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America have flooded Texas in the last 50 years. As their children are assimilated into the Texas cultural the flavor of their culture will expand and grow into part of the unique Texas cultural heritage (in fact much of it is already part of the heritage) the source of Texas was as as part of Spain's Mexican colony so many Texans, Texas towns and what people see as Texan food was brought by the Mexican people.
