Europe, in legend, has always been the home of subtle philosophical discussion; America was the land of grubby pragmatism.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
America, when it became known to Europeans, was, as it had long been, a scene of wide-spread revolution.
I think that growing up in a crowded continent like Europe with an awful lot of competing claims, ideas... cultures... and systems of thought, we have, perforce, developed a more sophisticated notion of what the word 'freedom' means than I see much evidence of in America.
I found it marvelous that the great supporters of America in Europe are, of course, those countries that American consistency and firmness in the Cold War ended up liberating.
For the most part, Americans speak of culture and politics as if they were two separate realms.
Europe is so well gardened that it resembles a work of art, a scientific theory, a neat metaphysical system. Man has re-created Europe in his own image.
One of the great themes in American literature is the individual's confrontation with the vast open spaces of the continent.
I always felt slightly grubbier than most American people.
Russia, France, Germany and China. They revere their writers. America is still a frontier country that almost shudders at the idea of creative expression.
Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.
In Europe life is histrionic and dramatized, and in America, except when it is trying to be European, it is direct and sincere.