Catnip polarises America!

The hubris of my last post is worthy of a Greek tragedy. After reading the frankly hilarious Catnip video reviews on iTunes US, I have started to wonder whether I really meant what I said. How could anyone get so angry about something as harmless and fun as Catnip? I can't help but think that the more vitriolic reviews say more about the reviewer than the video itself.

But all this did set me thinking. Don't the reviews make for an interesting snapshot of America? They could even be seen as a microcosm of a completely polarised country evinced in the November 4th presidential election (which is also my birthday weirdly enough).

I'm not suggesting that everyone who got hot under the collar is a McCain supporter, or that all the wonderful and beautiful people who valiantly defended my work are Obamaheads, after all many of the reviewers are probably not old enough to vote. But the reaction to Catnip has shown in an unusual and unexpected way 2 sides of an amazing and bewildering country, and make me realise why I both love and fear the United States.

I spend a fair amount of time there, and literally everyone I have encountered in any meaningful way is both open minded and intelligent. I think Stephen Fry puts it excellently in his podcast (Episode 2 - Bored Of The Dance) where he rails against the rampant anti Americanism that is rife here in Europe. Especially the ridiculous and offensive idea that Americans have no sense of irony. But whilst in the US, I do spend all my time in the cities, particularly San Francisco, which I know can't be viewed as representative. But can any single place or point of view be representative of such a multi-faceted country, especially one as divided as the USA?

Anyway, despite these ruminations I am left a little shellshocked, and have kept sane remembering (and completely twisting) the words of an early eminent American president:

"You can't please all of the people all of the time, or please some of the people all of the time or even please all of the people some of the time. You can however please yourself."