So I was recently reading my in-flight magazine (the pinnacle of fine journalism), when I came across some interesting information. There was a brief side-bar about Mr. T (apparently upon seeing the devastation of Hurracaine Katrina, he decided to hang up the “bling”). Anyway, Mr. T, according to a 2003 BBC poll, was voted #4 in a list of the all-time greatest americans. #3 on the list was Abraham Lincoln. #2 was Martin Luther King Jr. And #1 was. . .wait for it. . .Homer Simpson. If you want to re-read that, it’s okay, I’ll give you a sec. So, the English think that Homer Simpson is the greatest american of all-time. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln - okay, that’s a no-brainer. I’m even willing to let Mr. T slide (even a bling-less Mr. T). But Homer Simpson, come on!
For the moment, we’ll ingnore the fact that he’s a cartoon. Look at him - he’s fat, stupid, and hair-brained schemes aside, all he does is sit in front of the tv drinking beer. So, my question is, do the english see Homer Simpson as the quintessential american, and that’s why they voted for him? Or, do they see all of us as not even able to compete with a man a great as him, and that is why they the voted him - we’re not even as good as he is. Or, are the english just huge “The Simpsons” fans, and that’s why they voted for him (the same kind of thinking that got Arnold Schwarzenegger elected). I’m not really sure what to think. Are the english commenting on the american condition by saying that the best of us is nothing but a fat, stupid, beer drinking couch potato - or, are they so stupid that they vote for a cartoon character rather than an actual human being. I don’t know which it is, and I’m not going to try to figure it out. I just thought I’d pass along this highly disturbing information.
