It’s hard to put into words. Like I said, you feel it better if you’ve lived outside the States. Just cross the border into Canada, and people are famously “nice.” But what does that mean, really? Well, if Canada was in Europe, Canadians would just be normal. It’s because they’re right next to America that they’re “nice” — not that they aren’t, but that the juxtaposition is so striking. Cross the border the other way, go south into America, and suddenly — nobody’s nice. Being nice is something wrong. You can’t be nice as an American — what the hell is wrong with you? You’ve got to be tough, cruel, cunning, self-reliant, individualistic, or else. Or else what? You don’t make it.