The laws of a specific state, the actions of its officials, and the decisions of its own authorities have incomparably more influence on the lives of Americans than any action and decision of the president of the country.The quote above is something of a theme throughout the book. At first I wasn't sure that I agreed with it. True, I really haven't lived in the states as an adult, but I just couldn't think of how which state I lived in could affect me more than overall fact that I'm American. Although, when he developed the idea more, and explained how driver's licenses and speed limits differ from state to state; taxes and schools are different, and so on. I came around.
If nothing else, it is very different from life in Russia and Ukraine! While they do tend to interpret some laws differently in different regions here, the actual laws are the same nationwide. Not much varies according to which part of the country you're in. (Well, except for language in Ukraine and even some regions of Russia, but that's a different matter.)
2 comments:
Interesting. Good for you that you're reading books like that! How do you find time??? :-)
Oh, I VERY much agree. Even our attitudes and customs vary widely across the states. We have some friends that moved from Texas to Oregon to Alabama and back to Oregon. Granted, I think Oregon is on the far end of the spectrum in many areas, but our friends said they at least expected Alabama to seem somewhat similar to Texas, but it was like a whole new world!
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