Queues, Rules, and Sandwiches Anyone?
Unmistakably English is the queue. That is a line-up. But it is not called a line-up, because it is a queue which can only be found in this nation -- that is to say, queues in this nation are especially long. One must queue for hours to complete even the simplest task, and people seem to accept this fact as life and patiently wait in queues that could easily stretch across the Atlantic.
Orwell once said, "One has only to look at their [the English] methods of town planning and water supply, their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a spelling system that defies analysis, and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compilers of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency."
Hey, what did I say about hot and cold water coming out of separate faucets!
Secondly, the English adhere to rules of authority with stiff and religious conviction. They do not welcome any challenge to established rules, and to request any exception to the rule results only in having the original rule quoted back in a dismissive tone. One is expected to fully cooperate at all times, and if you don't like it, you know where to stick it.
And yes -- sandwiches, sandwiches, sandwiches. The English love their sandwiches, stuffed with rocket, prawns, avocado, bacon, cheddar, you name it. Grocery stores stock entire walls of sandwiches, tube stations sell sandwiches, Pret the sandwich chain appears on every corner -- one cannot avoid them, sandwiches are everything to everyone, everywhere. Admittedly, they are pretty tasty.
England is also perhaps the most class-ridden country there is. It is the land of snobbery and the privileged, old and silly money, boarding school and nannies. But the nation values its democracy and democracy is perhaps one of the few things in this country that is not a fraud. Along with patriotism. Perhaps true democracy can exist because England is not particularly a philosophizing nation, but a nation full of sleep-walking people that accepts whatever the governing-class decides. While democracy seems healthy here, one cannot help but feel at the same time oppressed, voiceless.
Yet some of the most lovely and gentle people I have ever met have been English, who have opened their homes and lives to me, who have imparted their support and wisdom in times of need, and who are dear friends whom I cherish.
Like most things in life, the more you know the more you realize how little you know.
Unmistakably English is the queue. That is a line-up. But it is not called a line-up, because it is a queue which can only be found in this nation -- that is to say, queues in this nation are especially long. One must queue for hours to complete even the simplest task, and people seem to accept this fact as life and patiently wait in queues that could easily stretch across the Atlantic.
Orwell once said, "One has only to look at their [the English] methods of town planning and water supply, their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a spelling system that defies analysis, and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compilers of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency."
Hey, what did I say about hot and cold water coming out of separate faucets!
Secondly, the English adhere to rules of authority with stiff and religious conviction. They do not welcome any challenge to established rules, and to request any exception to the rule results only in having the original rule quoted back in a dismissive tone. One is expected to fully cooperate at all times, and if you don't like it, you know where to stick it.
And yes -- sandwiches, sandwiches, sandwiches. The English love their sandwiches, stuffed with rocket, prawns, avocado, bacon, cheddar, you name it. Grocery stores stock entire walls of sandwiches, tube stations sell sandwiches, Pret the sandwich chain appears on every corner -- one cannot avoid them, sandwiches are everything to everyone, everywhere. Admittedly, they are pretty tasty.
England is also perhaps the most class-ridden country there is. It is the land of snobbery and the privileged, old and silly money, boarding school and nannies. But the nation values its democracy and democracy is perhaps one of the few things in this country that is not a fraud. Along with patriotism. Perhaps true democracy can exist because England is not particularly a philosophizing nation, but a nation full of sleep-walking people that accepts whatever the governing-class decides. While democracy seems healthy here, one cannot help but feel at the same time oppressed, voiceless.
Yet some of the most lovely and gentle people I have ever met have been English, who have opened their homes and lives to me, who have imparted their support and wisdom in times of need, and who are dear friends whom I cherish.
Like most things in life, the more you know the more you realize how little you know.
posted by Rebecca at
5:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home