Inaugurated

When I got in the car this morning on my way to school I turned the radio on and realized that the inauguration was being broadcast live. After a few moments it became apparent that it was Pastor Rick Warren giving the invocation. I turned the radio off. But when I got to school our class ended up watching Obama be sworn in and his speech following that.

I'm not usually given to feeling very patriotic but I had to admit it was a powerful moment. Seeing the crowd that had assembled there to watch Obama being sworn in, hearing his (carefully crafted) speech, seeing how emotionally other people in the room I was in were reacting... well, I couldn't help but be aware that, like it or not, as an American citizen I am a part of something larger than myself. I can choose to participate and be responsible or I can choose to work against the system. But I do have the freedom to make those choices and that is something I've always taken for granted.

Today, I'm thankful to be American.

Ameradox

I created a new word last night in the chip aisle at the grocery store downstairs: Ameradox. There we were (Bryn and I), surrounded by a veritable plethora of snacks. A wall of salty pretzels, chips, and puffs before us with our backs to another wall filled with sugary cookies. Unsurprisingly, Bryn didn't know what he wanted. When faced with an abundance of snacking choices, it suddenly became difficult to find one that was appealing enough. Fritos are too salty, and Cheetos are either too crunchy or too puffy. Regular Lay's potato chips are too boring, but Tim's Cascade Jalapeno Potato Chips are too spicy.

Do you think our ancestors really ever had to deal with this problem? You know, our hunter-gathering forefathers? I can't imagine them saying, "Gosh I don't think I want any wildebeest. Too tough and stringy. Do we have any frozen White Castles instead?" And so we are left with the American Paradox (or Ameradox) of wanting as many choices as possible while finding none of them to be satisfactory. No wonder the rest of the world thinks we are a bunch of self-indulgent spoiled brats! We want it ALL! NOW! GIMME! MIIIIIINE!!!!

Snotty wrote a blog yesterday about becoming desensitized to violence in the media. I think all of this is somehow tied together. Our news options are also so full that they are running out of compelling stories anymore. It's all been exploited so much that nothing is actually new anymore.