Too Happy, Too Pretty, Too Clean

Over spring break I had the chance to visit with some relatives here on vacation from their home in Caernarfon, Wales. The topic, of course, centered on the similarities and differences between the UK and the USA, and we narrowed the islanders' view of those of us "across the pond" down to the thoughts that we in the States are considered to be too happy, too pretty (in view of our straight teeth), and too clean (they tend to look like they simply rolled out of bed and went to work).

My first response was to scoff at the absurdity of this view. Who would ever think these three things would evoke scorn and derision? After all, aren't they all positive attributes? Surely the UK's negative approach to us was based on jealousy. But then my dad made the comment that while we prefer these three things, they prefer their own way of life. After all, there is something comforting in the familiar, even if it is less than paradise.

I visited with my relatives in the tiny town of Donna, Texas, the temporary home of hundreds of "winter Texans," my granddad among them. As we talked about the levels of depression in Europe and the month Europeans get off from work due to "stress," we sat in the sunshine, admiring the palm trees and beautiful exotic plants. Knowing that those flowers would never survive the unpredictable Oklahoma weather, I just couldn't bring myself to want to live among the palm trees. It was too foreign, promising excitement, but not the stability that comes from weathering storms and surviving the winter. I imagine it must be similar for citizens in the United Kingdom. They are used to the weather. They may suffer from light deprivation or weather-induced depression, but that is what they know. They are also used to different ideas. We prefer to be happy, pretty, and clean, while they prefer a different appearance. Now, I know that there is much more to the differences between the two countries and the reasons underlying them than what I have pointed out here, but what I am trying to get at is that I should not be so quick to criticize their ways of thinking. They are, after all, foreign, and while I may like to visit their country and learn that not everyone is the same (or like me), I prefer to stick with the familiar, good, bad, and all, and I would hope that, though it the two are very different, they are just as proud of and satisfied with their country as I am proud of and happy in mine.