There was a fog that passed through St. Louis for over a week. Some people said it gave St. Louis a nightmarish quality. It reminded them of what they imagined the end of the world would look like. Most just complained they were simply uncomfortable with the feeling of not being able to see out of this small confined space as they drove.
No one can deny the uneasiness that accompanies uncertainty. Your main focus is to get to your destination safely. You're too busy focusing on the few feet you can see around you. Thinking about the vulnerability of driving a vehicle over 60 miles an hour surrounded by a thick layer of cloud that impedes your vision is enough to make a sane person panic. You have to fight the urge to pull over and just wait til the gloom leaves the area. But who knows how long it'll last. So everyone keeps driving because they have to get home.
...the foggy drive is one big flipping metaphor for life. Have you read a newspaper or seen the news? The only thing public officials are really good at is making one bad decision after another. Why are we flooded with this nonsense CNN calls news. How does it really affect us if Brangelina break up? Why are there a few hours a day devoted to celebrity gossip on that station? Look, there are hundreds of people who go missing every day. Why is only one girl who went went missing after a Metallica concert getting all the attention? I'm sure there are thousands of parents who are worried about their missing children. Why are there only five kids (give or take) whose name and face we've been forced to memorize and prioritize above the rest? Why are more questions being asked than answered?
...I'm sick of people complaining about helping Haiti. "We don't even have money to fix our economy" they claim. Apparently we don't have ANY money to help some surviving orphans and a country destroyed by a natural disaster. But we have enough money to support two ridiculous wars overseas. I love the misplaced outrage. It could be considered charming if we were Klingons. tlhIngan maH!
...(Hypocrite alert!) What I'm about to say is absolutely and ridiculously unimportant and miniscule in the grand scheme of things. I understand it goes against the point I was just trying to make...but I would love to meet the head of NBC and ask him "Why?" before I drop-kick him. There have been few things in my life that I could rely on over the past ten years. One is my anger at Israel's racist policies and Apartheid, and America's blinding support. Another is my mother's instinct to force-feed me. And the other is Conan O'Brien. He was there when I first came back to America and fell in love with his "Inappropriate" skits in which he played a British rocker who yelled "Inappropriate!" when someone did something like fart in an elevator. He gave us insulting, comic dogs and masturbating bears. And he pulled levers (and on my heart strings) to give us the most magnificent clips in the history of television in the form of Walker: Texas Ranger. And then, just like that, he was taken away from us. I hate you, N.B.C. I hate you. (**sniffle**)
...I always enjoy Congress's displays when they know there's a T.V. on them. This includes Obama's State of the Union address. I've broken down the speech as so---
- The minority leader of the House is (R)Boehner. Is that pronounced like I think it is?
- Democrats and Republicans can agree on quite a few things, believe it or not! Things like:
- They do NOT accept second place for America.
- They both like Nuclear Power Plants (an image of Homer Simpson just popped into my head)
- They love the idea of off-shore oil drilling (Oil is to Congress as blood is to Edward Cullen).
- They love community colleges!
- They like Michelle Obama tackling childhood obesity. (They must really HATE fat kids!)
- They like bringing DOWN the deficit (who knew!?)
- They hate lobbyists! All of them! Every single one of them hates those lousy lobbyists and would never have anything to do with them!
- They want to restore "Pay As You Go".
- They think it's funny to have monthly meetings between Republicans and Democrats.
- They...wait for it...SUPPORT NATIONAL SECURITY (Where is this coming from?! Who are these people?!)
- They support ending the wars (that they started) and sending troops home (some day).
- Everybody thought the story of the 8 year old boy from Louisiana sending his allowance to Pres. Obama to help the people of Haiti was the cutest thing ever. They all AW'ed to which I thought, "keep these people away from your children". By the way, they do not think Palestinian children are cute. I've just deduced this.
Anyways, that's all you need to know about that. 2010 is all about jobs. Healthcare Reform is so 2009.
...As we swat away all this information flying at our faces in the hope of catching a glimpse of truth behind it all, we focus on the little things around us that make sense. The weather (sort of), T.V. shows like Lost or Glee (or whatever makes you happy), what sort of people we want to surround us in life. We are an ambitious generation with unlimited potential and a limited number of jobs. And so we try to control what we can. Do I get caramel or Mocha? 8 GB or 16 GB? Do I go out or save gas money? Because everyone is lying to us about Healthcare Reform. Everyone is lying to us about foreign policy. Everyone is lying to us about whether or not they took steroids or why they did. Sometimes fighting the fog feels pointless. Maybe you just keep driving and hope it clears up. That's why you gotta admire the people who forge into the thickness of it and look for clarity.
