Tag: #America

  • Super Bowl Reflections

    I like football, and I also happen to be the worst kind of football fan; a Dallas Cowboys fan. So, for those two reasons, I watched the Super Bowl, but didn’t enjoy it. (In fact, the real Super Bowl was Kansas City v. Buffalo. Am I right?) Good for LA, but if it went the other way, I would be saying good for Cincinnati, right now.

    The only thing that made this Super Bowl memorable was that my daughter was excited about it. Not that she cares about football, though she did try to sit through a quarter for the purpose of trying to understand how to play the game. Her conclusion; too many rules.

    Now, what the kid was really excited about was the gluttony, commercials and the halftime show. The gluttony part made sense because Thanksgiving is our family’s favorite holiday. We made guacamole, and queso with Ro-Tel and Velveeta. We had hot wings, nachos, and mozzarella sticks. The kid was not impressed with any of the commercials, and I have to agree. They used to seem inventive, but the commercials feel predicable; the “surprise” celebrity cameo, the quirky comedy, and ya-da ya-da. As for the halftime show, the kid thought it was cool, and I agree with that. What I took away from the show was that rap and hip-hop are now embedded in American mainstream culture.

    And when it was all said and done, it was just okay. I know a good part of that had to do with not having a team to root for, but the other side of it was that the whole thing felt removed from what is happening around this country. Like it was living in another fantasy world where everything was normal. I am aware that was what the NFL was trying to sell everyone, but it also felt a little hollow. Maybe that’s what makes the Super Bowl such an American holiday; it’s fun if you don’t look too hard at it.

  • Inauguration Day!

    It is a good day! Trump is gone, Biden is in. The Inauguration happened like clockwork. As it should. The tradition continues.

    I remember seeing Reagan’s at a school assembly in ’85. We also watched Bush in ’89 in our music room at my grade school. I have no memory of Clinton’s in ’93, but I saw Clinton’s in ’96 in my dorm room. I saw W. Bush in ’01 at my apartment with my roommate. In ’05, I missed it live as I was working, but caught a replay of it at a bar after work. In 2009, I watched it at the rehearsal studio I worked at, and was joined by all sorts of people who wanted to see Obama take the oath. In 2013, I opened up the business conference room so students could see Obama. In 2017, I was home. I don’t remember why I was home, as it was a Friday and I should have been at work. I watched Trump with my wife, and we were just sick as he talked about “American Carnage.”

    Today, I watched the 2021with my daughter. We watched as Kamala Harris take the oath of office, to become the first woman, African American, and Asian-American to hold that office. I am very fortunate that I was able to share this moment with the kid, as this will be the first inauguration she will remember.

  • Still Dealing with the Capital Riot

    I can’t seem to get my head in the game today. The kid’s schooling is going fine, and the wife is off and working.

    Me? I feel like there is this looming storm outside that is about to hit.

    Yes, this is a day of Covid fatigue, but also everything that has happened at The Capital, Trump, Biden, and all the other shit involved with it.

    I thought I was linked to the news before, but now, it’s like I can’t go five minutes to see if there was an update. It’s sickening. I feel like I am in a knot. This weekend was a loss for me, as I didn’t accomplish anything, just dealing with the anxiety of the moment.

    What I feel like is right after 9/11. Such as everything had changed, but at the same time, everyone was trying to go about their normal routines. Now, it seems even stranger as nothing was normal before 1/6, and today everything feels even weirder. The mere fact that people can’t even agree if the attack and its repercussion are worth dealing with. One side is, “Let’s Deal with This!” while to other is “Move on and heal.” The answer is both, but I don’t see that happening.

    The kid has asked a few questions about it, and I know she is trying to figure out what happened, and whether she should have an opinion. Clearly, the wife and I are very angry at Trump and want him removed immediately. But when I hear my kid parrots the same sentiment, that makes me uncomfortable. I know she can’t grasp all the details other than bad guys broke into an important building, so I feel like she should say those things. Yet, bad guys did break into an important building, and if we don’t stand up and defend this country from those bad guys, then what future am I leaving for my daughter.

    We have to show my kid how Americans deal with a situation like this. Protest peacefully. Vote. Get involved. Call and write your representatives on the local, state and federal level. Stay open minded and curious. Fight the fiery emotion of hate, with the cool logic of reason. And remember, always, that all Americans have a place at the table of Democracy.