Pick and mix a perfect culture

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Something snapped in me the other day, when I heard yet another blowhard go on about "why shouldn't we turn these immigrants back, they're Muslim, they won't fit into our culture".

"What do you mean?" I said, "people that follow a strong adherence to law and family, pray to God, and don't sit in pub beer gardens getting pissed and talking bollocks? I'd rather have them here than you".

I didn't of course. It would have been very rude and I am British. But it did set me thinking. There are some aspects of "our" culture worth preserving. Our ability to, at the same time, respect authority figures yet openly and almost constantly criticise them without fear of reprisal. But other bits like our vague adherence to laws we don't like, as witnessed in covid protocols and yes, the boorish drinking culture we display especially abroad, maybe less so. We joke about how some countries in Europe 'only work in the morning' but the Japanese would recoil in horror at how little work we actually do. Have they got it right? Have we?

It got me to thinking if you could take the best bits of each country's or people's cultures and make a perfect amalgam, what would it include?

[That Night In Barcelona]

I suppose it's hard to pick a set of bits from other cultures without stereotyping but I would definitely pick the French attitude to working - take off the entire month of August and seemingly little guilt about 'only' working the hours you're paid to do. Also I'd pick whatever bit of their culture is responsible for their bread and pastries.

[Amor de Cosmos]

A daily Spanish siesta combined with knocking off work at 4:00 pm (fairly standard around here.) It should provide about a four hour work day, which sounds about right.

[Toby Gymshorts]

The Canadian attitude toward politeness, kindness and punctuality combined with...

Yeah, I've got nothing else.

[Balderdasha]

I'd add the Italian approach to food, especially all the little family run pizzerias and gelaterias.

[Sporting]

Sudanese generosity/hospitality.

[ChrisJ]

Definitely siestas.

Definitely the Italian/Spanish/Turkish/French* approach to food quality BUT also the British approach to insisting whatever national/regional cuisine you fancy should be available. (*Probably others, these are just the ones I've encountered that have impressed me in this respect.)

The Mediterranean tolerance of children in public spaces is nice.

The Finnish approach to education.

The Bhutanese respect for the environment and kindness to animals.

The New Zealand sense of humour and underplaying events.

I'd keep the British ability to queue in a fair and orderly manner. Indian 'queues' gave me a new appreciation for this.

[Sporting]

Definitely siestas.

You'd be surprised by just how uncommon these are nowadays.

The Mediterranean tolerance of children in public spaces is nice.

In theory yes, but the racket they make!

[ChrisJ]

You'd be surprised by just how uncommon these are nowadays.

Yeah, I'm sure they're pretty unusual in Europe generally. Do they still have them in Latin America?

When I taught in India, there was a summer timetable that started in about April as classroom temps soon got to over 40⁰C. No AC. As I recall, lessons began about 7.30am and we stopped teaching at noon. After lunch, everyone was free until about 4 when we did some 1:1 or small group extra tuition and then there was a short evening session from 7pm. That mid-day snooze was wonderful.

[Sporting]

classroom temps soon got to over 40⁰C. No AC. As I recall, lessons began about 7.30am and we stopped teaching at noon.

Pretty much the same in Sudan.

[Sporting]

Bits of culture I definitely wouldn't enjoy include the American and Japanese attitude to paid holidays. I don't know the stats but I believe that US workers have fewer free days than their counterparts in other developed countries.

[WOM]

I have a lot of time for those cultures where their old people move in with the eldest child to be cared for until they pass. I have no interest in this for my own family, but I truly admire it for others.

[ursus arctos]

[ad hoc]

I'm a big fan of cultures that live (to some extent) on the street. But obviously it's fairly climate related and it is not something that would work exactly everywhere. (Though I suppose such places could take the Montreal approach)

[ChrisJ]

Ouch!

I'm presuming that although paid leave isn't statutory, professionals will be offered/negotiate an entitlement with their contract?

Also presuming that blue-collar workers just don't get paid leave.

[Sporting]

The Montreal approach being...?

[ursus arctos]

ChrisJ, the situation is very disparate, with paid leave being treated as another negotiating point along with compensation, health insurance, retirement provision and just about everything else.

White dollar workers will generally have paid leave. Our lawyers get four weeks to start, rising to five. Many of them fail to use it all, I never did.

Unionised blue collar workers will have at least two weeks of paid leave and often more.

The rest of the population is at the mercy of the "market", with the odds stacked against them.

[ursus arctos]

The Montreal approach being...?

https://montreal.eater.com/maps/best...outdoor-dining

[ad hoc]

The Montreal approach being...?

There seems to be this way that much of the centre of the city has been protected by covered (indeed, enclosed) walkways, such that walking from building to building one is not actually "outside" - so that, in the winter, when it is obviously very cold and snowy, there is a sense of being able to enjoy the city despite the weather. (Though i have spent very little time in Montreal and I have no idea how and whether it really works in practice)

[Sporting]

ChrisJ, the situation is very disparate, with paid leave being treated as another negotiating point along with compensation, health insurance, retirement provision and just about everything else.

White dollar workers will generally have paid leave. Our lawyers get four weeks to start, rising to five. Many of them fail to use it all, I never did.

Unionised blue collar workers will have at least two weeks of paid leave and often more.

The rest of the population is at the mercy of the "market", with the odds stacked against them.

Love the "white dollar" typo.

[Sporting]

I like the German approach to Sundays regarding unnecessary noise and limited shop opening.

[Flynnie]

There seems to be this way that much of the centre of the city has been protected by covered (indeed, enclosed) walkways, such that walking from building to building one is not actually "outside" - so that, in the winter, when it is obviously very cold and snowy, there is a sense of being able to enjoy the city despite the weather. (Though i have spent very little time in Montreal and I have no idea how and whether it really works in practice)

It's kind of meh, sort of like walking in a never-ending shopping mall. What is useful is you can walk quite a distance using it. You can go from UQAM all the way to the Bell Centre using it, which is about a 2 km walk.

[ChrisJ]

The rest of the population is at the mercy of the "market", with the odds stacked against them.

Thanks. And increasingly so here with the gig economy and zero-hours contracts being so in tune with the spirit of the age.

I think the term 'disparate' has applied to just about every facet of US life I've ever asked about.

[ursus arctos]

It probably has

And it can't be emphasised enough how much that disparity is increasingly linked to wealth.

There is an entire politically active class who steadfastly believe that everything is a commodity most efficiently distributed via "the market". In part because they have the resources to benefit from such a system hire at the same time craving external affirmation that those resources are the reflection of their talent, rather than an admixture of privilege and luck.

[WOM]

Toronto has a similar underground 'city' called the PATH system. It's 30 km long and covers a significant part of Downtown Toronto: all the major bank / office buildings, etc. It has shops, food courts, and whatnot and leads down to Union Station. I use it in the dead of winter to get from the GO train to within a block of my office. It's not necessary soul-crushing, but things that make you go 'hmmm' are few and far between. No real sense of a grand experience or focal points. Just mall-like tunnels that help you avoid the worst of winter.