ValturNaa Wrote:You think that's not basically universal? I didn't even vote in the last presidential election because no matter who you vote for, they end up doing the same ruinous shit as the last president (and just look at the candidates...I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather vote for Mickey Mouse than Republicans or Democrats). America's only remaining inventions are crappy video games, our phone services are provided by India, our production is in China, and we ship food from Argentina that we used to grow in California, while farmers in the US are only still in business because the government gives them money to burn their crops to keep prices up. Our politicians are trying to make us communist-equal with the rest of the world (if not inferior because "we had our chance"), our schools are a hundred years out of date, our colleges will give you a lifetime of school debts to qualify to flip burgers for the rest of our lives, fifty percent of the population doesn't know how to balance a checkbook, our literacy rate is the lowest it's been since the country was colonized, and more people are living on welfare than can support themselves. Sorry but every country in the world seems to be flushing itself down the toilet, with a few notable exceptions. That doesn't mean a country isn't interesting to study, but being a part of it, you never appreciate your own country. God knows I've had more American history and politics classes than I can stomach. It's like a man who lived in New York City but never went to see the Statue of Liberty, but who saw the grand canyon, 2000 miles away, every year. We always want something different and difficult, not something close to home and easy to get. It's a weird part of human nature. Same reason silk was popular in Europe, 3000+ miles from where it was grown. So...yeah, we do find Denmark interesting. It's strange and different, and some of its ideals make us question our own.
And, sorry but we haven't gotten that far in Danish language studies. If you're asking why we'd want to study Danish (I recognize familie and studere from Latin, and I presume dansk means danish?) it's mostly for curiosity's sake. Actually the language I *really* want to study is Icelandic, because supposedly it's the closest to the old Norse, a culture and language that have fascinated me for as long as I can remember. But Danish is close enough and it might be a good step toward that dream.
So it's not just Denmark that go to hell. Could it be the large multinational companies that have buy all the politicians and get everything to go their way? Just a guess.
Denmark and Iceland are not so closely linked, as you might think. Our language is completely different, and Iceland has not been part of Denmark since before World War 2.
And not to see what's in the neighborhood. I think I've seen everything there is to see in Denmark. I have been in Tivoli, Bakken, Legoland, Louisiana, Rundetårn, ARoS, Den gamle by, BonBon-Land, Christiania, Kronborg, but I've never seen the little mermaid. She was too small. I could not find her.
