my perception of the u.s.

some students have been asking me lately about what i plan to do in december and next year at the end of my contract. i emphatically inform them that i am done with bogota, colombia, and the whole central and south american culture. i can't speak for brazil, chile, argentina and other neighboring countries and their respective cultures but i feel as if i know the south american way of life pretty well. i also inform them that i'm not planning to leave alone, andrea will be with me, wherever that may be. i also know that i'm not interested in returning to the u.s. any time soon. with the exception of friends, family, and a few selected geographic locations, i've had a negative opinion about the states, the people within it, and the 'culture' that surrounds it for a while now.

i've been reading henry rollins' book 'broken summers' (again) recently and he has some great perceptions about the states that i think i can relate to. to quote him: 'Amerika is playing catch up and it's out of breath. By the time they figured out that all that fast food and other crap was bad for your health, it was too late. Ronald McDonald was already in the home and he would never hurt you and you were already hooked so why stop a good thing? You're allowed to be an ignorant piece of shit in this country and someone will always be there to carry you. I meet fuck ups all the time. Divorced, substance abusers, two kids by two mothers, collecting unemployment and somehow driving and new SUV. They are pigs running wild and they are allowed to live. They are carried. Amerika spits in your face and charges you double and tells you to be proud. I love Amerika but it's hard to be proud of a place run by cowards who are afriad to tell the people the bottom line. They won't tell them to use less gas, they just get more oil. Here it's thousands of idiots driving in cars and trucks they don't need, clogging the lanes, on the phone.'

i like reading rollins. i don't always agree with what he says or the music he likes but he has a way of writing thoughts that i've had for a long time into clear, blunt, and to-the-point prose. the book also describes rollins' integral involvement with the West Memphis Three. three teenagers who were convicted of murder in 1993, even though there was no physical evidence, motive, or connection to the victims. they have been in prison since. rollins details his part by going on tour and making compilation CDs to raise money for DNA testing. HBO also made a documentary on the case called Paradise Lost I and II. if you're interested in knowing about the book, the film, or the case, you can see the information and reviews on amazon.com.