[...] 2. The Euro-poseurs. Susan Sarandon recently appeared on a panel discussing the war and dissent. "When you have a guy who thinks the best act is to blow himself up, along with others, you have to ask, `What leads to that?"' she said. "And is the response more violence? A cowboy shoot-'em-up?"

Deep, man. Never mind that American filmmakers haven't made more than two non-ironic postmodern cowboy movies in the last quarter-century. If you want to sound like a European, attuned to the sophisticated nuances of international politics, drag out the cowboy analogy. Insist that Americans are rootin' tootin' Colt-totin' lunatics looking for a fresh continent to scalp. When the military drops blankets for Afghan refugees to help them make it through the winter, intellects of Sarandon's stripe will sneer the linens are probably infected with smallpox.

It's harder to be a Euro-poseur today, since the term could also mean one who burns synagogues or assassinates free-market gay-rights politicians. [...]