Guess who is coming to dinner

LAst evening I had dinner with my friend’s family in London. At the dinner, there was a german cople and a polish couple and a Pakistan couple. The polish fellow kept making the cardinal mistake that one should steer clear of, i.e., never talk about religion or politics. While they all agreed that US sucks, even though virulently defended by my friend, who now lives in london. When my friend’s father was asked about whether the indian muslims are as radical as the rest of the world. He looked at the polish fellow and said, "No..there are avenues to voice dissatisfaction via the political and economic process. Indian muslims do not necessarily identify with the pan-muslim grievances...unlike pakistanis"...and then he deftly turned the question over to the Pakistani couple who took the next 30 mnutes to explain the history of islam and palestine and the benefits of being muslim. After the diatribe, my friend’s father got up and put on some classical Indian music as he sipped cranberry and sparkling water.

I come to london quite often and each time I find the british becoming more and more American. I suppose it is this transformation that is the crux of the disdain towards America. The Etonian cadre is happy with preserving the status quo, with their Institute of Directors and the bevy of private clubs, but if you ask most british people, they would run to the US tomorrow if given the oppotunity.