31/08/2001 - 5:45 p.m.

Rants and News

You know what really makes me sad? People from other countries who hate America. For example, last year, we had a foreign exchange student at school who had a serious loathing. Every day was something along the lines of: "Hi, how are you doing?" "Oh, just fine, except I hate this bloody country."

Now, Iowans have a reputation for not being as rude as the rest of Americans. And I do tend to notice the rudeness in others when I go places. Now, the rest of the universe is right, we're awfully rude, but that's a generalisation. Seriously. A lot of us are really quite nice and interested in people. And would appreciate it if you'd just give us a chance and allow us to be fascinated by the way you live, and then we can be informed and good natured with each other when we're poking fun rather then ignorant and harsh.

I know I gave the Germans a chance when I was there, and found them to be really nice people. I didn't dismiss them all as drunks and Nazis. (Though I admit, I set out to.) The Parisians aren't really all that rude either (just exasperated that they've got non Parisians there).

Personally, I want to get out of this country and see the world, and I will apologise for all of us Americans who really suck, but a lot of it comes for our education system (The world's greatest experiment, it is often called.), and the fact that a lot of us feel guilty we left the Old Country in the first place, so we mask it with cruelty. Feel sorry for us that we are being taught to take life for granted, rather then be angry that we do.

Well, other then that life is great. Heard from Grace who told me just what I wanted to hear. I'm extremely dense sometimes.