Need I enumerate cultural figures or works from USA that I liked very much? Apart from songs, Allen Ginsberg poetry, Timothy Leary texts and one book ( American revolution and Casimir Pulaski, The Frontier. America as the first country introducing liberal values in the world and cutting itself off of "old Europe", "Ancient regime". Yes, the Americans are not only people eating burgers, as some memes imply.
Heh, an anedcote: I harboured for a long time regret towards my father for borrowing him money for a trip to Russia. There he made a bunch of interviews with Russian artistic figures, like . He later said to me that this trip contributed to developing "Polish-Russian" friendship, well . . . He also had just a good time, Yeah, he liked to tell stories about it, how he was partying, etc and I just wanted my money back. Eventually I got it but was it worth it? I think it was, every penny of it: I got in return not only money, but also some books in Russian ( Pielevin: I read in Russian "S.N.U.F.F", " Generation Π" , "Шлем ужаса"( did not like it) and most of the stories contained in anthology "Ананасная вода для прекрасной дамы")
One of the people worth mentioning (know your worth Xихус!), among the others, is Xихус. I liked his comic books and his "sociological projects" so to say.
I knew Ukrainian people, I lived close to the buidling (my "kamienica" was vis-a-vis their "kamienica) where they lived. They also lived in the same "kamienica", I really met many Ukrainians on a daily basis, sometimes personally, sometimes accidentally, and although our "manners", "behaviour", expression of things are really different (Poles are more cautious, hesitant, not suspicious, while the Ukrainians are "open", warm, honest, which not always means those words but. . .most of the time do, heh). It was like: I met the Ukrainians in person, while with the Russians I have more contact with their culture, which is vast. The figure of "saint sinner", юродивый, is also appealing. Corto Maltese merged with such sinner, best of all, Rasputin, would give birth to miracles. If I were to choose between or precisely point which side is more "right", I couldn't. Although, what I see, is that the Ukrainians may have not yet come out of their "nationalistic" phase of their nation, which in our times may seem a bit obsolete. The same may be said about Poland. Nationalism in a sense of "common welfare", like in Britain, is ok, is even desirable, but nationalism in a sense of "jingoism" smells bad. Perhaps nationalism is a natural response to, alleged or not, to hostilities. Ukraine, in Utopia for which some people claim to fight, should, like Africa, be let alone (not isolated, mind you) and develop on the basis of sovereignity or, if the Ukrainians, as the sovereign choose it: become protectorate of some other state, an autonomy. These places, Ukraine and Africa, just haven't had their chance at "Civilizational jump". But this is so utopic I am ashamed to even talk like that. I feel like playing Sid Meier's Civilization IV now.