Let me remind you that a significant number of European Tribune users (and nearly half of the contributors in this thread) are either American or living in the United States...

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

tomcunn:

thoroughly enjoy this site; it amazes me how little the posters know about usa for all that they obsess over it;

Well I am one of those Europeans who knows relatively little of the US (apart from two summers there many moons ago which I very much enjoyed) and am here to learn.  Fortunately I don't have to move to the Mid West to do so.  The Mid West, no more than Europe or the Middle East, is not the centre of the Universe. I understand L'exception Francaise as an in joke around Europe although others here may beg to differ (Hi Jerome!).

However, the beauty of this site is that if you do think we are missing out on some exceptional piece of Mid West wisdom, you are free to expound on it with a diary of your own.  Patronising people for their lack of knowledge of the US generally doesn't work as well as actually making an effort to communicate your unique insight into its particular charms.

Index of Frank's Diaries