There are two main styles of eating with a knife. The European style has the knife in the dominant hand for better control and power over the knife. After using the knife, they switch hands to have the fork in the dominant hand. The American style is more pragmatic, with the knife being in the non-dominant hand so that the fork is all ready for eating. My style is an American-European style, with the knife in the dominant hand, but then I eat with my other hand.
Pragmatism is the only real American philosophy we have created or exported. It is an important part of all we do. It is decidedly un-pragmatic of me to over think the use of eating utensils, but I was thinking about it after reading the blog of a friend's son. He is in Kenya, and in his blog this morning he told of a small boy who ran from the church before the pastor started preaching. The pastor left the pulpit to bring him back and explained that he was so hungry his stomach was hurting. The ever-pragmatic Alabaman had a bag of peanuts in his backpack in case the pastor ran long and they were unable to beat the Methodists to the restaurants.
Sorry about that, I slipped back from Kenya to America at the end. Have you ever known someone so hungry they ran from church? Have you ever known a preacher to leave the pulpit before his sermon to get one small boy? My answer to the first is no, and it makes me ashamed to have so many leftovers in the fridge. My answer to the second is that it is an un-American, un-pragmatic thing to do. The needs of the many should outweigh the needs of the few. But I do know a man who would leave 99 sheep to go and find the 1. In fact, He did leave them, I am the 1. Are you too?
Justin Evans' Blog http://justinevans0502.blogspot.com/