(In a letter to his son Eric)
Have just made a discovery that you may wish to try out and develop. It is that ‘North Americans go out for privacy. It came about as I puzzled over the European and English acceptance of movie ads in movie time, and the rejection of the same by Americans. The European stays home for privacy, but when he goes out to dine or to a show, expects it to be public and festive and ceremonial. The American acceptance of public advertising on radio and TV inside his own home requires less adjustment than it does for the European or English. The U.K. is about to get radio and tv ads, and I am to do a broadcast to the U.K. on this subject on April 27th. Hence my meditations. Perhaps one reason that we go out for privacy can be found in our habit of accepting the out of doors as wilderness of solitude, cf. the user is the content and “monarch of all I serve.”
Remember, the English man’s home is his coffin!