This Is Africa
There's a common saying in Africa. I hear it often at the back of a long queue in a bank, or sitting in a taxi that is making it's way along potholes with a smattering of tarmaced road in it. I hear it when money is stolen from public funds ad when customer service at the restauraunt consists of the waitress coming to your table with a look on her face that seems to indicate that you've ruined her day by coming in for a bite to eat.Whenever something absurd happens or whenever somethig awful occurs that has people shaking their heads, we say This is Africa. The implication being that the observer need not be totally surprised and astonished on account of incompetence. This is terrible. This is bad. This is normal. This is Africa?Flipping that coin, I've noticed Americans, despite being ragged upon and misrepresented as collection of ignorant obese, soccer hating know it alls, are some of the nicest and genuinely well meaning people. (Generally. There are300 million people here so..)But more than that, they use a phrase, "Only in America". It's used to underscore their wonderment and sense of pride in accomplishing the seemingly impossible. When they overcome something. When they attach a 7 horse power engine to a monster truck and flip it at 250 mph. When they invest some form of social networking. It's that sense of optimism. That sense of pride too, however arrogant it may seem some time, is something to be commended. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
There's a common saying in Africa. I hear it often at the back of a long queue in a bank, or sitting in a taxi that is making it's way along potholes with a smattering of tarmaced road in it. I hear it when money is stolen from public funds ad when customer service at the restauraunt consists of the waitress coming to your table with a look on her face that seems to indicate that you've ruined her day by coming in for a bite to eat.Whenever something absurd happens or whenever somethig awful occurs that has people shaking their heads, we say This is Africa. The implication being that the observer need not be totally surprised and astonished on account of incompetence. This is terrible. This is bad. This is normal. This is Africa?Flipping that coin, I've noticed Americans, despite being ragged upon and misrepresented as collection of ignorant obese, soccer hating know it alls, are some of the nicest and genuinely well meaning people. (Generally. There are300 million people here so..)But more than that, they use a phrase, "Only in America". It's used to underscore their wonderment and sense of pride in accomplishing the seemingly impossible. When they overcome something. When they attach a 7 horse power engine to a monster truck and flip it at 250 mph. When they invest some form of social networking. It's that sense of optimism. That sense of pride too, however arrogant it may seem some time, is something to be commended. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
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