I'll tell ya... Those people -- the Brits and Europeans in general -- make The Godfather Saga or The Sopranos look like a Saturday morning kiddie cartoon. Those people have some seriously nutty blood in their veins...
"Those people" are us. We live under the uniquely American delusion that we have no connection to the civilization that gave us birth: the West. In reality, we are no different; we just happen to be lucky in a number of respects in regards to our recent history. This isn't going to last. Europe simply has more history than we have; history doesn't move in a straight line. When we have had as many centuries of history as Europe has had, we won't be in any position to point fingers at them. In fact, our recent finger pointings are looking more and more hypocritical.
Whenever I go to Europe, I'm always fascinated by how akin I feel to them and how distant, simultaneously.
We will either quickly combust or be gloriously reborn, our culture is too fast-paced to replicate Europe's modulated decline.