Cool Abroad

I have blogged about the concept of Terminal Cool here.

In brief: The term Terminal Cool struck me as a way of describing the phenomenon of coolness or hipness in the American character and its consequences. It struck me first while I was in college and my previous blog really presented the issue of coolness, in dress, language, behavior, as being primarily a phenomenon of adolescence and young adulthood. Nothing new here.

However, I think American popular culture's preoccupation with cool explains some trends in the American character at any age, and especially in the American behavior in intercultural encounters. I further think coolness is America's single biggest export. Music, cigarettes, dress, movies and the general assault of American culture on the world, so loathed for example by the French (The French! says the citizen. Set of dancing masters! Do you know what it is?
They were never worth a roasted fart . . .) (Joyce, Ulysses, Cylcops)

AND, I further further think Coolness is a terminal pose that deadens emotional response, human interaction, and intellectual expression. Here's how . . .