Can you resist our culture?

Just read Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk, the guy who wrote Fight Club. It's a comic novel about an undercover operative living with an American family. He's from an unnamed terrorist nation and is planning to kill as many Americans as possible in a terrorist attack. In the mean time, he's billeted with an American family.



The book is written in the form of journal entries, in heavily accented and awkwardly phrased English. The writing style is a little exhausting, but pretty funny and quite effective at conveying a brain-washed terrorist mindset. Ultimately the book is about whether a young, brain-washed enemy of America can resist Western culture.



Is it possible to resist our culture of instant messaging, tall lattes, celebrity magazines, Internet porn, movies, music, television, make-up, Obamamania? I think it would be tough. Especially for a young person. Sure it's possible. Easier if you have an outside source of influence like religion. (Think of all the Islamic people who hate Western culture.)



But I think if you're on your own and you're simply bombarded with all that crap, every day, all day, 24/7. You will eventually cave and let yourself be absorbed into pop culture. Then you will no longer "hate" American culture because you're attached. Hating it will be like hating a part of yourself.