Information over Vast Distances

Alex Boldt

The American friendliness is fragile however and is mixed with a strange moralistic streak: if somebody does anything considered morally wrong, the normal sympathy and empathy is immediately and utterly withdrawn and replaced by heart-felt condemnation

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I would argue, again, the behaviour outlined above is also a function of distance.

When we label someone, in our minds and eventually during conversation to someone else we are passing information about that person. That information, in turn, will / can be used to (indirectly, additively) to form a trust network in a society. It will spread. You label in one town, and it might take effect in another town.

But, in the case of US, over vast distances, through few people in a populace, all the nuances of circumstance, mood that might have caused a negative feeling about someone might not carry over to another town. So you make up your mind, early (few people, vast landscape also means you are facing bigger dangers that might be more immediate in nature), so instead of bazillion nuances about someone, if the person is “bad enough” you say “he is an asshole”. That will carry over to the next town, my friend. Or the reverse, you can also say someone is a “good man”.

Done.