Saturday, August 13, 2005
Lost in America, vol. 1: Somebody Who's Actually Producing Hogs
In one of what will be I project many posts about my home country, I find this story from the LA Times to be very interesting. I love my country but sometimes feel disoriented. Welcome to your twenties, am I right?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050813/ts_latimes/theyourhobbyherehalloffame
In the past few years I have been spending my days & nights on college campuses among relatively like-minded individuals. Like minded in the fact that none of us knew what the hell is going on but damned if we weren't passionate about it--in our own ways. It's been great, but also socially constricting as far as understanding how the "rest of the country" might be thinking these days. The only adults we came in regular contact with were professors or administrators who generally were on the same wavelenths (theres a reason they never leave college!). At a dinner party earlier this week I shared the table with several middle-aged Americans down here for a little business/vacation week. From overhearing some of the conversations about being American and traveling , my eyes were opened to another side of the story. And albeit second-hand I've been made aware of several different facets of America over my years in school. But my understanding is far from over.
I find myself somedays still, five years in, waking up and reading the news, seeing Mr. Bush's face and saying "Oh yeah...it's real. He is the President. Geez." Being away and looking in we're really a backwards country. I wouldn't give up calling the United States my home for anything, but we're really confused, and it is my opinion that we really have our priorities in the wrong places. I never question my decision to join the Peace Corps, and I anticipate serving more and more everyday. But before I leave I have to find out what it is I will be representing when I am abroad. Is the America seen the America I know? Is the America they know the America I will be? Is that a good or bad thing? Is there an answer, or just some suggestions (or lies)? Are we known for our freedoms and civil liberties, or for our pocketbooks and our hypocrisies? Why has the image of Mount Rushmore as the symbol of America seem to have been replaced by grizzly desert scenes from Americans in a different country all together? I have hundred of more questions...and very few answers...
One crucial answer comes at the end of that LA Times article, with a fathers dream carried out after his death by his daughter with the opening up of a Trucking Hall of Fame. ¶ 8/13/2005 06:03:00 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050813/ts_latimes/theyourhobbyherehalloffame
In the past few years I have been spending my days & nights on college campuses among relatively like-minded individuals. Like minded in the fact that none of us knew what the hell is going on but damned if we weren't passionate about it--in our own ways. It's been great, but also socially constricting as far as understanding how the "rest of the country" might be thinking these days. The only adults we came in regular contact with were professors or administrators who generally were on the same wavelenths (theres a reason they never leave college!). At a dinner party earlier this week I shared the table with several middle-aged Americans down here for a little business/vacation week. From overhearing some of the conversations about being American and traveling , my eyes were opened to another side of the story. And albeit second-hand I've been made aware of several different facets of America over my years in school. But my understanding is far from over.
I find myself somedays still, five years in, waking up and reading the news, seeing Mr. Bush's face and saying "Oh yeah...it's real. He is the President. Geez." Being away and looking in we're really a backwards country. I wouldn't give up calling the United States my home for anything, but we're really confused, and it is my opinion that we really have our priorities in the wrong places. I never question my decision to join the Peace Corps, and I anticipate serving more and more everyday. But before I leave I have to find out what it is I will be representing when I am abroad. Is the America seen the America I know? Is the America they know the America I will be? Is that a good or bad thing? Is there an answer, or just some suggestions (or lies)? Are we known for our freedoms and civil liberties, or for our pocketbooks and our hypocrisies? Why has the image of Mount Rushmore as the symbol of America seem to have been replaced by grizzly desert scenes from Americans in a different country all together? I have hundred of more questions...and very few answers...
One crucial answer comes at the end of that LA Times article, with a fathers dream carried out after his death by his daughter with the opening up of a Trucking Hall of Fame. ¶ 8/13/2005 06:03:00 PM
Comments:
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i was starting to get into your emotions...then..i read about the beer hall of fame....i cant get it outta my head...BEER HALL OF FAME!!! NOMINATE ME!!!!
# posted by 
: 6:22 AM
: 6:22 AM
It just comes down to the fact that as an American, you have the freedom to shape your own destiny. You can choose to hang with like-minded individuals, or engage in intellectual debate with someone of opposing views without fear of reprocussions. The majority of the world does not have this luxury, therefore they do not understand it fully. When you go to serve in the peace corps, you can go over there and, like the stereotypical westerner, demand air conditioning and clean food/water; Or you can shake a hand and, through a translator, say 'Hello, my name's Josh Hussy, American. How can I help?'
(However, the irony that we prolly create more challenges in those countries via actions / policies than we solve is not lost on me).
(However, the irony that we prolly create more challenges in those countries via actions / policies than we solve is not lost on me).
# posted by : 12:56 PM
: 12:56 PM
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