today, plastic
posted a link to the UK's Guardian, with a rare (for them) article about the things they like about the USA. now, i'm not as bad as they are, in terms of pessimism, and i'm more pissed about where this country seems to be headed, rather than where it comes from, but i, too, need to think about the good stuff sometimes. i may not make it to 50 things, but let's try.
The National Parks system: i know i touched on this earlier this week, but really, dozens of parks, each with at least a week's work of wonderful stuff to do, all for $10-$20 a week. Shoot, you can even get lodging for $15 a night if you have a tent.
McDonald's: Well, McDonald's is one of the chief symbols of American power, and one of our most loathed cultural symbols. Personally, i love McDonald's. They aren't some evil entity; they provide predictably decent (and mostly bad for you) food at a reasonable price; any ambition to cultural domination is ascribed to them by crazies.
Las Vegas: Completely and utterly surreal, and simply could not exist in any other country.
Colleges and Universities: As in, a shitload of them. Everything from gigantic state universities to snooty liberal arts schools to punishing engineering schools.
The Interstate Highway System: Utterly spectacular in scope, it's such a part of our daily lives that we completely take it for granted.
NASA: Still doing amazing things with no money.
The Statue of Liberty: We're used to it now, but think about what it must have been like when it was first erected. A 30-story building shaped like a person. Probably the nicest thing anyone's ever given to anyone else.
The Smithsonian Institution: One of the world's finest collections... of collections.
Baseball: Say it's less exciting than other sports. It is. Say it's corrupt. It most certainly is. But there's something inexplicably fascinating about it, and it's a hell of a way to waste a sunday afternoon.
Dunkin' Donuts: It's true, you know. You just can't get a better cup of coffee (well, not on a daily basis, and have it be so inexpensive).
The Simpsons: The one american cultural export that *everybody* loves.
Amazon: Not quite everything, but a pretty good slice thereof, delivered to your door in a matter of a couple days.
Anyway, i guess the point is, there are a lot of swell things about the USA, and i'd sure as hell rather live here than elsewhere, but as for those of us malcontents, it is important to remember, that things didn't get this swell through widespread apathy. Throughout American history, from the minutemen to the civil rights protestors, people have given a crap. And when people rail against Ashcroft's invasions of privacy, and Bush's unilateral idiotic Texas-centric governance, it just means that they too, give a damn. Things like the aforementioned are why they do.