busybody factor

Usually we think of Israel in a constant state of being more and more Americanized. But apparently it goes the other way too.

In Salon today, Lynn Harris asks, "Is it me, or are people -- and not just the self-righteous religious -- feeling more and more entitled to offer their "input," or at least make irritating inquiries, into others' private lives? [...] Invasive questions and unsolicited "advice" are rampant among civilians, now more than ever, I think. And especially when it comes to women and marriage and childbearing -- future, present, or God forbid, lack thereof -- it seems everyone's got something to say."

Welcome to our world, Lynn!

In fact, we can't even imagine a world where strangers mind their own business. (In fact, to borrow from an old joke, "Strangers? What's that?")

She even quotes an academic who sounds like he's talking about the normal status of the Jewish state: "There definitely has been what we call a loss of civility, and part of that is that we now feel that we are more a part of the private lives of others," says Bernardo J. Carducci, a professor of psychology at Indiana University Southeast. "Especially when you have people carrying on cellphone conversations right next to you."

Although I've seen signs that Israelis are learning to jealously guard their privacy from intrusive passers-by, I doubt we're ever going to see a decline in the busybody factor in this nation of Jewish muthahs.