Don Foreman wrote:

The aim of untold millions is to be free to do exactly as they choose
and for someone else to pay when things go wrong.

In the past few decades, a peculiar and distinctive psychology
has emerged in England. Gone are the civility, sturdy independence,
and admirable stoicism that carried the English through the war years
. It has been replaced by a constant whine of excuses, complaints,
and special pleading. The collapse of the British character has been
as swift and complete as the collapse of British power.

Theodore Dalrymple,

===============

How different are we in the US? I think it's more a matter of
generation than of nationality.

Frivolous tort lawsuits, like the McDonald's hot coffee fiasco, don't
fly in the UK.

I spent part of a day as an observer in the Law Court in London, just
for the hell of it. Twining's is just across the street and I was
in the 'hood to glom a coupla kilos of assam long-cut tea. I love
that stuff. It is not tsk tsk tea. It brews black as coffee.



I don't think that sig is intended to just refer to the Brits. I also
don't think it has anything to do with generations either. It's a
function of a population group that has become more and more reliant on
a social services system and consequently incapable of taking care of
themselves.

The recent hurricanes have shown this quite clearly, particularly in
Florida where they had both seen what happened in New Orleans (and the
surrounding areas) and also had nearly a full week of warning and still
did absolutely nothing to prepare.

Many of those in Florida were elderly, but with a week warning they
still should have been able to request assistance evacuating either from
the state or their relatives or for that matter the management of some
of those retirement communities. Even those who specifically chose to
remain did nothing to prepare like filling a bathtub or containers with
water or insuring they had an adequate supply of their medication and a
way to keep it cool if needed.

Other groups of people of similar ages in different parts of the country
behave quite differently so it's not generational. People in say
VT/NH/ME understand the risks of winter storms and insure they have food
and wood for the wood stove in the event that they are snowed in and
without power for a week during a big storm.

Simple preparations that show self reliance and personal responsibility
which are completely lacking in varying segments of the population. In
my area the primary threats are grass fires and tornados and I'm making
plans and preparations to deal with those threats. I haven't been here
long enough to be fully prepared yet, but if something hits before I've
completed prep, I sure as hell won't be standing around whining for the
government to do something.

Pete C.