Getting Testy with a Marxist...
"America bores me. I once thought it was just the South, but I have traveled all over the country since then, and I have discovered that the entire country is pretty much one big yawn for me."
Have you been to Little Saigon near LA?
Have you been to a micro-brewery in Portland?
Have you been to a winery in the Yakima Valley?
Have you been to a diner in the Ozarks?
Have you been to the San Antonio Riverwalk?
Have you been to Ybor City in Tampa?
Have you been to a wooden boat builder in Maine?
Have you been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York?
Have you been to the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC?
Have you toured the Capital Building in Washington, DC?
Have you been to your representatives office in Washington, DC?
Have you been to your representatives office in your state capitol?
Have you seen the sunset in Key West?
Have you toured Gettysberg?
Have you been to JR Cigars in Statesville, NC?
Have you climbed a rock in Boulder, CO?
Have you caught a salmon or halibut in Sitka, AL?
Have you been to the combat zone in Boston?
Have you been to an Off-Off Broadway play?
Have you been to a performance of your local symphony?
Have you watched a shuttle launch or landing?
Have you been to Marti Gras in New Orleans?
Have you been to St. Patrick's Day in Savannah?
Have you been to the Oriental Institute at the U of Chicago?
Have you seen a car being built in the US?
Have you seen an aircraft being built in the US?
Have you seen a ship being built in the US?
Have you been to a software development company?
Have you been to a chip fabrication plant?
I have done most of these, and I am not bored in the slightest with this country. I submit that you may have been
around, but you have not been
to the United States.
Update:
"It amuses me that of all the statements made in that long entry (of all the entries I have posted in the past few weeks), the one statement that provoked you to comment is the one statement that can be interpreted as "anti-American." In all serious curiosity, is your "patriotism button" really that hair-triggered? "
Actually, the element that bothered me the most was that statement's transparent self-loathing. Every location I listed was also a unique culture.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who visit Gettysburg.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who live in Little Saigon.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who work for congresspeople in Washington, DC.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who go to Off-Off Broadway plays.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who watch the sunset in Key West.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who build aircraft in the US.
There is an unique and rich culture of people who create software in the US.
All of these places have cultures attached to them that are valuable, vibrant, and vital.
The only way to fail to appreciate all these many cultures is to be preoccupied with ignoring the possibilities in yourself. Of course, giving me a label will probably banish self-actualization for another semester, at least.
My hair trigger is self-destructive behavior. It does tend to go off around people who mask their torture with postures of anti-americanism. Funny thing, that.
Patrick
