Is This a Great Country Or What?

OK.  This is my latest rant. If you are in any doubt about the quality of culural life in this country, or about our unique contribution to the cultural life of the world at large, fix yourself a generous martini and put Art Tatum, Count Basie (and/or any of a thousand or more of our creative genii) on your CD player and sit back and enjoy.  The Chinese and Japanese can offer only pale, mechanical (but desperately earnest) imitations of the genuine article.  We have, indeed, a great deal to be very proud of.