My scribbles today are inspired by Cara's post last week where she quoted the script of The Thin Man: "– in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
Those words brought to mind an old joke I like to tell. It goes like this:
The difference between heaven and hell:
In heaven, the English are the policemen, the French are cooks, the Germans are the engineers, the Swiss run the railroads, and the Italians are the lovers.
In hell, the English are the cooks, the Germans are the policemen, the French are the engineers, the Italians run the railroads, and the Swiss are the lovers.
Given the sad condition of the world and the sham people who purport to be running things, I began to wonder, who would I put in charge of making the planet a nicer place to dwell. I have concluded that the heaven of my joke is correct when it comes to...
...the Italians.
...and the Germans (especially their talent with automobiles!)
...and, with a few reservations (sorry Cara), the French should be the cooks.
However, when it comes to the police and the trains, I envision a better heaven.
My recent sojourn with Susan in her adopted country has convinced me that the Japanese should certainly run the railroads.
And from what I know of them, the Canadians should be the policemen.
I am also ready to nominate the Icelanders to run the banks. (They were the only ones on earth, after the 2008 financial debacle, to actually send the culpable bankers to jail!)
South Africans should be the ones to make peace after civil strife.
I nominate New Yorkers to take charge of avoiding civil strife through peaceful coexistence.
Many other pairings are possible. Weigh in, Folks. What endeavour would you place in the hands of what country? Remember, we are talking here about the populations, NOT the politicians.
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