Going to be later today. Feeling lazy this morning and contemptuous of society. Can’t even be bothered to use pronouns. Check back later. Might have something useful.
UPDATE: Well, it’s 8 p.m. and I have some Actual Paying Work to do so I might as well squeeze this out. Hell, they’ve changed WordPress on me. Hopefully I can make my way through it. I wonder if it’s actually for the better.
And since I’ve been so lazy today and have some real writing I need to do, this will be less News-type and more Gibberish. I doubt that will mess anyone up too much. Anyhow, one of the things that put me out of sorts is a tidbit from last night’s Democratic National Convention.
I really don’t watch those things anymore. As fascinated as I am about American Politics, the bread-and-circus aspects of it bore me. I recognize the need, I just don’t care. Same thing with debates. I don’t know if I’d call them a waste of time, but since seeing Bush versus Kerry in 2004 and the Washington press give Bush a pass because he didn’t shit himself on stage, I’m done. Same thing with Trump versus Clinton in 2016. How anyone could watch that and come to the conclusion that goober needs to be in charge of a one-pump gas station, much less the nuclear codes of the United States, is beyond me.
Anyhow. Since this was a virtual convention, rather than the raucous party-like atmosphere these things generally are, when it was time to pledge delegates they went to satellite shots from the different states. Each one had someone showing off something native or special to the state, really, the stuff that makes this country worth the trouble.
Last Spring, I drove from here in Enon Holler, Mississippi, out to Corvallis, Oregon, to see my brother and sister-in-law. I’d never been west of El Paso, so it was a chance to see everything I’d never had. I went to Tulsa and then Dodge City, satisfying my Western jones. I drove through the towns like Boise and Salt Lake City and Flagstaff, noting their similarities and what made them unique. I drove down to Woody Creek, Colorado, to pay homage, in the process driving over the highest road in the country.
I drove through the length of the Cascades, seeing the first real waterfalls I’d ever seen. Corvallis is on the western edge of Oregon, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any place as clean as Oregon. I drove down to Mendocino to pay more homage, than down to the Winchester House in San Jose, finally spending part of the day in San Francisco. I also spent some time in Portland, and those two cities – along with Chicago – have become wingnut Mordor the last couple of years. They’re full of shit. They’re beautiful places with wonderful people and all the issues affecting any other city in the country. The last place I spent any time in was Las Vegas because by that point, I was ready to be off the road and still had Texas to deal with. Discouraging.
Apart from the natural beauty of the country and the wonder of man’s accomplishments – I saw both the Grand Canyon and Hoover Day – it was the people that grabbed me. Apart from an ugly scene in Bakersfield that just showed me people are assholes to store clerks everywhere, the entire country is full of lovely, cool people. Now, I am a white dude and the whole long-hair-and-beard thing isn’t as unsettling as it once was, so I recognize that probably helped. But this is a great country full of wonderful people who’re all trying to live life the right way: being nice to each other and having a good time.
So, that’s what I see. I’m not a patriotic sort, but that drive got me as close to feeling patriotism as anything in my adult life. It was black and white, Native American and the child of immigrants, straight and not-so-straight, old and young. It’s not wealth or productivity or military might that makes this country worth the effort. It’s the people. That’s why voting is important. You can’t go anywhere and not take the steps.
And then everyone lost their shit because Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pledged Bernie Sanders’ delegates, which is how the damn thing goes, and used the time to advance some progressive ideas. Since we’re also a dumb country that can’t be bothered to know what we’re talking about or even look it up when we don’t know, Twitter went apeshit for a couple of hours. Dingbats showed their ignorance, saying she’d sunk the DNC or Joe Biden, and I went to bed and stayed there.
This is a great place to be but I’m less inclined to leave Enon Holler after last night. Being dumb is one thing. Being aggressively proud you’re dumb is quite another.
Dear Y'all 