history is a nightmare etc.
Often it's easy for me to forget that the other America exists—the America that lives outside urban centers, has never heard of secular humanism, attends evangelical revival meetings, watches NASCAR, is the reason that country music is actually the nation's most popular genre... and so on. When we were driving between Reno and Tucson a couple of months ago, there were long stretches of road where you couldn't pick up anything but country. This was our introduction to the Toby Keith song "The Angry American (Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue)," which I guess has been burning up the charts this year.
Hey, Uncle Sam put your name
At the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shaking her fist
And the eagle will fly
And it's going to be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringing her bell
And it will feel like the whole wide world
Is raining down on you
Brought to you courtesy
Of the Red, White and Blue
Oh, justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
You'll be sorry that you messed
With the U.S. of A.
Cause we'll put a boot in your ass
It's the American way
My father thought he was saying "Buddha up your ass"—but no. I just want to know: is there really no way to have an us without a them? Yesterday I belatedly picked up Tanya Donelly's Beautysleep, and tucked away in the liner notes is the legend "dona nobis pacem 9:11:01." I plan to spend the upcoming anniversary in the mountains—probably by myself, since everybody else has things to do on Wednesdays.
Later during that car trip, I lost most of the vision in my right eye for a period of about fifteen minutes. I could still make out colors but had lost the ability to process shapes; everything just shimmered. While it lasted it was terrifying.
