Continental Lovegames in Post Postmodernism

Daniel Adler serenading his  true love.

Americans are afraid to fall in love, because they’re afraid of being made vulnerable. In South America, they know how to play the game, so they play it, and they play it well. There’s a girl with beautiful blue eyes sitting at a bar, and an Argentine man approaches her. “Hey, why don’t you get your nails done? There’s a chip on your fingernail.” This infuriates the girl, and she in turn wants him. In Europe, a Spanish man approaches a beautiful blue eyed girl. He says, “I’m going to make you fall in love with me," and tells her about his positive attributes, complimenting her on her gorgeous jawline and earlobes. In California, a surfer dude approaches the blue eyed girl, “What gorgeous blue eyes you have.” Of course she knows this, but he has to tell her this to establish ties, to make him a legitimate competitor.

Europeans love the game, almost wanting to lose, savoring each play as if it could be their last, South Americans want to win at all costs, but Americans, we are simply afraid to play. Capitalism has engrained the mindset that if you aren’t good at something, if you stand to lose, there’s no point in risking it – and so the battle for who goes first can often take weeks, and once the first move is made: a triumphant battlecry! Hahaha! You made the first move! And weeks more of sparring and balancing the power scale before the next is made.

Oh capitalism, how we deplore you, and need you at once, for you are our saving grace. But in another 50 years, when the American aristocracy is further entrenched, and socialism begins to rear its ugly head, then what? Then will we take more risks in love, be more willing to sacrifice and lose?

Daniel Adler, Hot Love on the Wing