America is a country of ordinary people, like the countries all around the globe. We enjoyed an uncharacteristically long run of sound prosperity until the early 20th century when the US government became an imperialistic power, ultimately seizing control of the vast majority of the globe by the end of the 20th century (this is not a cultural highlight, it's a damn shame that Americans have permitted this beast to grow up among themselves).

If you want a taste of American culture and you have a short attention-span, watch the modern adaptation of the Odyssey set in the early 20th-century American South... Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? American culture, like European cultures, is not a monolith (no matter what the flag-waving, chest-pounding pedophiles in DC might tell you). The Super Bowl is not American culture, even though American football is. Do you get it? McDonald's is not American culture, even though hamburger and fries are. Pizza Hut is not American culture, even though pizza pie is. Lady Gaga is not American culture even though rock music is. And so on.

Politicians and corporations are parasites. They parasitically imitate the culture for profit and power. Since they hold all the cash, the casual observer only sees their caricatured version of the host culture which has been invaded. Open your eyes, look past the bullshit of the US government's imperial corporatocracy. This is a land of rich, deep and extremely varied cultural heritage.

Clayton -