Who has ever heard of "un-British" or "un-French" activities? The United States has often been called a "melting pot" because of the many different nationality groups it comprises, but before each generation of immigrants has been fully accepted into American society, it has had to be "Americanized." Few Americans have ever accepted diversity as a value. American society has,in fact, taken great pride in destroying diversity through assimilation.

---The American Approach to Foreign Policy by John Spanier

Why Can't We Be Friends?

Maybe its just me (considering that my dose of americana comes solely from the internet) but I think the Dems are heading for trouble. The country has become divided over the past eight years and three months ago (heck, one month ago) a Democratic victory seemed a sure thing. Now I am not so sure. While I am living in France (and most french people could not name a single republican besides Bush) I feel as though there is a turning tide in the states. I cannot help but be disappointed by the petty fighting between the Obama and Clinton camps. I understand this is going to be a hard fought battle but this election is theirs to lose...and they might do just that. Americans are looking for change (as we always are) but we are also looking for unity. Not the scary 'Love America or Die' unity that emerged after 9/11 but a true unity that is nurtured through national pride. I am American and I cannot pretend to know what it is like to be anything else but I have come to realize the effect we have on the world and the effect we have on ourselves. There is a saying in France: "America coughs and the whole world has a cold". Though we have declined in power over the years, we still hold a lot of sway ecomonically and culturally. We export American culture shamelessly and any dip in our economy shows an immediate effect on the rest of the world (see current crisis with fed reserve). There is a lot of weight on our shoulders and, I think, this election cycle we should cut the crap and actually find who the best person to shoulder this weight might be. Besides, if Hill and Obama don't get their act together you might just find me voting for McCain come election day.

Dear America,

Can I have a moment please? You have been doing great and I don't want you to forget it. Sure, there have been the rough times. Everyone has their off-days (or decades) but you are a country of the future. You were there leading the way with a democracy that still stands tall today. You have been an inspiration to many and a downfall to others. You have so much going for you and yet.... Like the young teenager, you must not get ahead of yourself. You don't know everything. You can still learn from your peers and your mistakes. See it through, America. Take a look around and see what others have to say. Healthcare? Immigration? War? What happened to you America, when did the oppressed become the oppressor? You have given yourself over to the politicians that seek to use and destroy you. They tell me to fear terrorists but the only people terrorizing me are the politicians. I'm not scared of Osama, I'm scared of Dick Cheney. Oh America, please take care of yourself. There are others out there who love you and support you but you have to make the first step. The future is now.

Love,
The World

King of the World

When I was a child, there was a popular saying to bullies. When a kid stepped out of line and tried to boss someone else around we would say, "Who made you King of the world?” Yesterday I asked myself that. It was a Wednesday, innocently enough. Wednesday is the day that all the English Assistants have the day off so we usually plan on doing something as a group. I met up with two of my friends, Bob and Steve, and they suggested that we catch the new Tom Cruise film: Lions for Lambs. It sounded good enough and once I found out that it was to be shown in 'version originale', I was doubly excited. We purchased our tickets, a bag of M&Ms, and settled in to have a good time. About ten minutes in to the film, I started to sense something was wrong. The thought struck me: When did Tom Cruise start making propaganda? The film was 92 minutes of political bullshit. The same line that the Reps have been toying since the beginning of the war: give us a chance, it is ‘us’ against ‘them’, and the media are the ones losing the fight. I walked away with more than a stomach ache from the M&Ms.
I walked away ashamed.
I was sitting next to two Brits, in a room of French people and I just wanted to hide. As I watched the drama and rhetoric unfold, I felt like I was listening to an old story that I heard too many times before. The movie was meant to inspire Americans to be more patriotic and to serve our country.
It was meant to inspire.
I was inspired. I was inspired to start going to Peace rallies when I get home. I was inspired to convince my friends to actually register to vote so that their words would be heard. I was inspired to change something because our attitudes in the states just aren't cutting it. This week France has been crippled by transportation, student, and civil servant strikes. I find it utterly annoying and sometimes frivolous but at least they are fucking doing something. We sit back and don't give a shit about what is happening in our country. We are wealthy and blessed beyond imagine and we cannot even see it. We walk around patting ourselves on the shoulder while there is horrendous poverty and education next door. We say we are so proud to be American when we don't even understand what the word means.
So who made us King of the World?
We did
We did with our inflated ego trips and propaganda films.
We did with our righteous attitudes and God Bless America signs
We did with our bombing and occupation of foreign countries.

I love America but sometimes I really hate being American.

Abortion, Welfare, Genocide, and everywhere in between

“These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise, walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, "Business as usual." But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.” --- Life of Pi

There has been a shift in our country. The people have moved away from the leaders and whether it is from distrust or displeasure, the evidence of this shift is blatant as we watch the circus that has become the Presidential Election. The contenders are numerous and have begun their fights earlier than many have ever seen. We are already looking to the future with such unabashed joy that people have chosen their favorites for president a full year before the election. All this is to say that there is a shift. The world has become smaller through technology and information has been made readily available to the public like never before. Our generation is educated on the world but with knowledge comes responsibility. This past weekend, I was with my mother and grandmother. I asked my grandmother if Americans knew about the Concentration Camps in WWII. She said they had heard rumors but no one knew the extent until the American soldiers opened the gates of the camps and saw for themselves the horrors of the Nazi regime. Fast forward to present day, me sitting on the couch and watching CNN. There is a genocide going on in Darfur and we are doing nothing about it. America- the land of the free and the defender of democracy- doesn’t give a crap that thousands of Africans are dying by the hands of their own government. Oh wait, actually we do give a crap. You see, good ol’ George has called this government out in meetings – while they sit in the back and laugh at his condemnations- but the problem is this: They have information on terrorists and somewhere along the line information about terrorists is more important than preventing genocide.
But that’s not where my rant ends- If you were worried that I would leave out the good faithful people of the Church, rest assured I have condemnation for them too. Where is the church on this? Why aren’t we doing something about it or at least praying about it? When I feel frustrated and lash out at the newspapers- something that happened yesterday morning- my aunt calmly says the only thing we can do is pray about it. Even more, the only thing we can hope for is a Christian President because he will know the right thing to do. Bullshit. A smart president will know the right thing to do. A president with good advisors will know the right thing to do. A president that cares more about the people than oil would know the right thing to do. Christians believe their purpose is to save souls, but what souls are there to save if people die? This reminds me of a dichotomy I should not bring up:

Abortion and Welfare.

Say it together.

Christian right- very much against abortion and welfare. Now, why, might you ask, would they want to save the babies of woman who can’t afford to have the babies in the first place? We shouldn’t give out free birth control because that contributes to promiscuity and we shouldn’t have abortion because they shouldn’t have gotten pregnant in the first place and we shouldn’t support welfare because people shouldn’t be having kids they can’t afford….

I just gave myself a headache.

So, I can already see the comments on this one. I know I shouldn’t be looking at people; they aren’t perfect only Christ is, but when did that become a scapegoat to personal responsibility. When did the fact that a reincarnated divine being living a mystic existence in your soul allow you to be exempt from caring about people, or, even better, pretending to care. This is why my mother is one of the few devout I can bare to stand. She does care and she goes multiple times a year to places across the world or to her next door neighbor and proves that she cares.

All this to say that I think we need to act more. I don’t know how to begin but I think that if the Church wanted to do something to change the world they could begin by spending less time on evangelizing and spend more money on the needy.

There. Done.

America! Fuck Yeah!

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America"--Bill Clinton


"There's the country of America, which you have to defend, but there's also the idea of America. America is more than just a country, it's an idea. An idea that's supposed to be contagious."--Bono


"England and America are two countries separated by a common language"--George Bernard Shaw


"Europe will never be like America. Europe is a product of history. America is a product of philosophy"-Margaret Thatcher


"I just want to say this. I want to say it gently but I want to say it firmly: There is a tendency for the world to say to America, "the big problems of the world are yours, you go and sort them out," and then to worry when America wants to sort them out."--Tony Blair


"America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses."--Woodrow Wilson

"America is a vast conspiracy to make people happy"--John Updike

I've been thinking about America and how it feels to be American. With the number of people I've met here that would like to live in America one day I am perplexed by my home country. The American dream and all of that...what effect does it really have on us as Americans and how we think of ourselves?

"The past is told by those who win. What matters is what hasn't been"--Jimmy Eat World

I recently saw The Vagina Monologues. Now for those of you out there who think this is an opening for a feminist rant then I'd hate to disappoint but it's not. I loved the play, I thought it was brilliant and hilarious but also had it's stumbles. To further increase the anxiety of listening to women talk about their vaginas for two hours I went with a male friend of mine. He was a good sport about the play though I could tell there were times when he was thoroughly uncomfortable, compounded by the fact that he doesn't have any sisters to help him understand the mystery that is women. So back to the beginning, I was watching the Vagina Monologues and for those who haven't seen the play it consist of 25 women acting different monologues about various women issues. One of the women was speaking and I was struck by her voice and trying to decide if she was American or not. This may sound silly to those who have never studied abroad but there are two major things that can make deciphering an American accent difficult. First of all, since I am constantly surrounded by varying accents my ears have come to accept each voice as its own without immediately trying to decipher the origin of the accent. Secondly, many international schools have American teachers and are attended by American children so it is entirely possible that someone can have an accent that on the surface seems American but in fact is not. So I asked my companion if the girl was American and he responded in the affirmative. He also mentioned that there was another American girl he had noticed at the beginning of the play. I quickly scanned the crowd of women and immediately my eyes fell on her. I can't explain what an American woman looks like unless you have spent a fair time in another country. I had heard English men speak of the beauty of American women but I was unsure on what they meant until I saw her. While the other young women sat non-chalantly in their seats waiting their turn, she sat on the edge of her seat, legs crossed with her arms carefully draped over her legs. She was completely self-possessed, confidant, and elegant. It reminded me of what one friend had said when I asked him why he liked American women. He said "their confidance" was number one. Watching this Amiercan woman I finally understood what my friend meant. Next to her all the English Women looked like children, constantly pulling at their waist coasts, unsure of what lay ahead. I quickly observed my own posture in my chair and wondered if I too held her stateliness. How American am I? That is a question I am trying to answer everyday.

"American girls are weather and noise, playing exchanges for all of the boys."-Counting Crows, American Girls

I hated a whole country yesterday

I am reminded of the incident by the faded mark of a black X on my right hand, the mark of the Sugar House. Last night was...uneventful. I danced a lot with my girls and posed for pictures to remember the night. It was after the we left the club to go to the Chippy that things really started getting interested (a Chippy is a Chip Shop, a place that sells french fries, burgers, pizza, and kebabs). We got the usual, cheesy chips with extra vinegar and as we waited for our order these three drunk english guys realized that some of us were American. They proceeded to ask us if we were from America to which I reponded, no I'm from Canada. My friend Lisa said she was from Mexico and Elizabeth was from Argentina. Our joke seemed to rile the guys more as they them proceeded to harass us about Bush and about being stupid Americans. Of course this is my favorite when loud drunk British people tell me they hate Americans because we're loud and stupid. Then to add insult to injury we were asked to leave by the chippy owners because they didn't want anything to happen. I've been living in England since October and sometimes I just don't want to be a foreigner. I just want to go out, have some fun with my friends, and eat cheesy chips. When I came back to Texas for Christmas break it was such a relief to be able to go about my business without drawing attention that I might in anyway be considered abnormal. Though then a strange thing happened and I felt abnormal in America anyway because I had adapted to Britian. Will I ever have a home again?