Our Shining City on the Hill.

c. David Grim (taken 4/6/08)

Sometimes it's difficult to realize just how resistant the United States is to change. Many Americans believe that we have earned a world-leading status due to our progressive approach, and that we have evolved rapidly, thus naturally earning our position relative to the rest of the world. We flatter ourselves that everyone looks at us enviously in the hopes of catching up. No doubt our quick embrace of new technologies has flattered this perspective. When it comes to materialism, we do indeed tend to get ahead, even of ourselves.

But when it comes to real structural change... the kind that would actually change the way we live, we have a strong reactionary segment that invests an inordinate amount of energy and other resources in maintaining the status quo. Even in areas that everyone agrees there exists major problems, our society is ultimately loath to make alterations of any serious substance. Health care is a particularly appropriate and timely example of what I'm referring to.

Given the outpouring of rancor over access to medical treatment, can you imagine what would happen if Obama took a page out of Russian president Dmitriy Medvedev's playbook, and eliminated two entire time zones? I can't think of anything more damning to call the president than the "Anti-Christ", but I'm sure his opponents could. But how do the Russians respond? An online petition opposing the measure with 13,000 signatures. Could the proverbial Facebook "Head of Lettuce" or "Deranged Squirrel" get more fans than that?

And how exactly is this move by Medvedev going to affect people's lives? Ponder this quote from the petition's text: "[i]n the winter, darkness will come almost at lunchtime, which isn't convenient and is psychologically quite hard." Yikes.

A trip down memory lane.

c. David Grim (taken 4/5/08)

Yesterday I took the opportunity to revisit my college years on a facebook group page. There were tons of photos of people that I haven't talked to, or even thought about, in years. There was also a discussion page and all the attendant comments of nostalgia that one would expect with such images. I got a kick out of it at first, enjoying a few of the memories that had slipped my mind over the ensuing decades (and boy, that's an odd term to use and reflect upon).

There was a long time after I attended Pitt when I liked reminiscing about friends and acquaintances from that period of my life. Now I get a vague cringing feeling. It was truly odd to read about the impression I left on people that really didn't know me all that well, but with whom I spent a fair amount of time.

I guess (ultimately) that it's a good thing I feel a bit embarrassed thinking about those days. If I was still sentimental for that particular phase of my life, I'd have some real cause for shame. If I hadn't learned and evolved past the perspectives and philosophies that I held during that time, then I'd have to consider my adulthood pathetic. Of course I wouldn't have the objectivity necessary to make that assessment, but that wouldn't redeem me. Anyway, I spent some time lying in bed last night thinking about it.