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Something to smile about
IT'S all over. After nearly two years of campaigning, America has a new president.
Who would have thought our redneck cousins would have voted in a black man, charismatic though he is? And that it would be such a landslide?
It goes to show just how much influence television wields, doesn't it? If there hadn't been a saintly black president in the long-running thriller 24, would he really have stood a chance? It's probably just a coincidence that, just a few days before the election, 24's David Palmer was voted America's most trusted fictional president. It can't have hurt Obama though.
As it is, we stand on the threshold of a brave new world, one where anything is possible. Political commentators are hailing this as the new Camelot.
Would it be churlish to remind them that last time they used the Camelot line it was about JFK. And that ended well, didn't it?
I pray that this time it's different, that this time America really has turned a corner. But, as we all know, it only needs one nutter to bring the dream crashing down.
Still, it took something pretty special to get voters to turn out in their millions, to empower the minorities and to make politics relevant to a whole new generation.
It's enough to make an old cynic smile.
Which leads me to another slice of Americana. The nation's great obsession with their teeth.
We have very different attitudes to our gnashers. We brush twice a day, visit the dentist twice a year – if we can find one or afford the fees – and generally try to keep them in good shape.
Americans, on the other hand, are obsessed. I once heard that the average American spends 10 per cent of his or her income on looking after their teeth. It makes you wonder how they find enough people for all those extreme makeover shows, doesn't it?
The dental divide was highlighted when a US journalist congratulated Ricky Gervais on being prepared to wear grotty false teeth for his leading role as a dentist in Ghost Town. Unfortunately, he didn't.
Dentists say that, as a nation, we prefer the more natural look. But over the water they firmly believe we all have rotten teeth and, by implication, are somehow unclean.
Yes, Ricky may be a little snaggle-toothed but at least his smile looks natural – unlike some of his Hollywood counterparts.
Attitudes may be changing, though. Most supermarkets now stock teeth-whitening kits – and many of my friends smile more brightly than they used to.
So why am I bothered? I'll be spending a couple of days in Los Angeles soon, that's why.
I have never been overly conscious of my teeth before... except, of course, when I had to wear a brace. And when I had all my old-fashioned fillings replaced with white ones.
But I'm starting to get paranoid, even though my teeth are fine, if a little creamy. But they've always been like that. It doesn't make me a bad person, does it?
I can feel a trip to the dentist coming on...
jane.percival@halifaxcourier.co.uk
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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