The Misanthrope’s Corner

N the past, whenever Europeans made fun of our provincialism and lack of culture, we could always salvage our egos with tributes to the “American standard of living.”

It referred not to individual incomes but to what made us all rich, even the least among us. Merely by being Americans, we enjoyed an unprecedented degree of personal cleanliness and hygienic protection made possible by what advertisers proudly called “modern conveniences.” Thanks to the ASOL, we could get even with our foreign critics, as H. L. Mencken did when he said, “I’d trade the whole Acropolis for one American bathroom.”

About the Author

Florence King

Florence King was a contributing editor of National Review.

Featured Tags

N the past, whenever Europeans made fun of our provincialism and lack of culture, we could always salvage our egos with tributes to the “American standard of living.”

It referred not to individual incomes but to what made us all rich, even the least among us. Merely by being Americans, we enjoyed an unprecedented degree of personal cleanliness and hygienic protection made possible by what advertisers proudly called “modern conveniences.” Thanks to the ASOL, we could get even with our foreign critics, as H. L. Mencken did when he said, “I’d trade the whole Acropolis for one American bathroom.”