I voted for the first time today. Makes me feel very American... go figure.
My mom and I were watching TV the other day, and in the midst of the commercials for various weight loss products, hair products and makeup, my mom said, "Look at how bad they have to make people feel about themselves so that they can do business. It's terrible."
Instinctively, I responded that the companies are simply taking advantage of the American mentality: we can always do better. We can always achieve better. We can always be better. A corollary is that we are not good enough now. Spend enough time thinking about that, and it paints a pretty ugly picture. Inadequate. Unaccomplished. Overweight. Unattractive. Just not good enough as we are now. Leave it to the media, and the solutions lie in the amount of money you are willing to spend, and the chemicals you are willing to put into your body. On a larger scale, with all of the debates between presidential candidates, there is definitely a common thread in all of the issues they address. I think we've heard all of them say, "We need to fix this broken system" for just about every 'system' there is, from education to health care to immigration to whatever else. Why is everything broken in this country? We are the youngest, brightest, wealthiest country in the world. But our citizens are too fat and have better access to McDonald's than to the doctor who does their bypass surgeries. Every system is broken.
I went to the gym today after a long time. Specifically, I attended a yoga class for the first time. There was a range of people in there: the instructor was probably a couple of years younger than me, and I was seated diagonally behind a senior woman. There were even a few guys in the class. And definitely a range of body types. People were there for all different reasons, from all different lifestyles and walks of life, but they had one thing in common: they were working to make their lives better. Whether to increase flexibility and agility, get some meditative minutes in the day, or improve focus and control over breathing: each person was working towards a goal. This is where I saw the beauty of America.
No matter where you stand with respect to your goals and dreams, and no matter how large or small those dreams are, there are avenues for change available if you have the heart to take them. And people do. There is a profound dignity in that. To not only say, "Yes, I can be better," but also take action - however small - to achieve.
This year off gives me a lot of time to think. And make change. I have some ideas of what I want to do... let's see what happens.
My mom and I were watching TV the other day, and in the midst of the commercials for various weight loss products, hair products and makeup, my mom said, "Look at how bad they have to make people feel about themselves so that they can do business. It's terrible."
Instinctively, I responded that the companies are simply taking advantage of the American mentality: we can always do better. We can always achieve better. We can always be better. A corollary is that we are not good enough now. Spend enough time thinking about that, and it paints a pretty ugly picture. Inadequate. Unaccomplished. Overweight. Unattractive. Just not good enough as we are now. Leave it to the media, and the solutions lie in the amount of money you are willing to spend, and the chemicals you are willing to put into your body. On a larger scale, with all of the debates between presidential candidates, there is definitely a common thread in all of the issues they address. I think we've heard all of them say, "We need to fix this broken system" for just about every 'system' there is, from education to health care to immigration to whatever else. Why is everything broken in this country? We are the youngest, brightest, wealthiest country in the world. But our citizens are too fat and have better access to McDonald's than to the doctor who does their bypass surgeries. Every system is broken.
I went to the gym today after a long time. Specifically, I attended a yoga class for the first time. There was a range of people in there: the instructor was probably a couple of years younger than me, and I was seated diagonally behind a senior woman. There were even a few guys in the class. And definitely a range of body types. People were there for all different reasons, from all different lifestyles and walks of life, but they had one thing in common: they were working to make their lives better. Whether to increase flexibility and agility, get some meditative minutes in the day, or improve focus and control over breathing: each person was working towards a goal. This is where I saw the beauty of America.
No matter where you stand with respect to your goals and dreams, and no matter how large or small those dreams are, there are avenues for change available if you have the heart to take them. And people do. There is a profound dignity in that. To not only say, "Yes, I can be better," but also take action - however small - to achieve.
This year off gives me a lot of time to think. And make change. I have some ideas of what I want to do... let's see what happens.
1 comment:
Hey, I didn't know you blogged! You're getting a link front and center on mines.
Voting is great stuff and I've never missed a chance to do it (except for asucd =), but at times it's pretty scary! People like George Bush expect that as soon as you let people vote, the country will turn modern, peaceful, and become just like America over night, but people forget things like how Hitler rose to power through legitimate elections.
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