"............most civilized people (Americans cheerfully included) prefer civilization to barbarism."
Has it been awhile since you visited the states Roger? Most of this country strikes me as decidedly uncivilized, and we have a true barbarian as a president, which is a slur to barbarians everywhere, but it's the best thing I can say about him in a family environment.
As far as I know, all public libraries are free in this country, and you can ck out magazines, books, DVD's, CD's, audio books, etc. One can even ck out musical instruments and art prints to hang on your wall in the library where I live, which is pretty cool. Last week they were showing a good film for free, and they have been featuring free live music in the main library this whole month around lunch time. Computers are free to use as well.
The only people I know of that complain about taxes are the wealthy, which is ironic, as they have crooked accountants to help them dodge paying them. Myself, I prefer the little libraries in people's yards because they never close, and I am not a fan of bureaucracies. The pure randomness of what you will find is neat also. They are true free spirit enterprises. Don't like the book you got? Throw it away or use it for kindling. I generally use the crappy books for weights to place on my wavy watercolours as they dry.
