It's been a while since I last wrote on here. I know that in my last post, I wrote that I would be trying to update on a daily basis based on my readings of the BoM, to be fully honest, that didn't happen. It's hard for me to find the time and the motivation to do so.
To be more realistic, I'm just going to write on here whenever I want because, well, I can. So let's get started shall we?
So last week I had the amazing opportunity to spend the whole week, including Independence Day in Washington DC with my family. I have to say, it was absolutely fantastic. DC in itself is so full of history and culture.
Now, I have been known to be called a "city boy" because every time I find my way into a city bigger than 150,000 people or so, I pretty much instantly fall in love, but believe me when I say this, DC is one hell of an awesome city. The entire East Coast in itself is such a cool place, so different from the way things are here in Utah and Idaho; it's really quite a bit of a culture shock. People were friendly if they wanted to be, and they were rude if they wanted to be, it was all genuine, unlike the false kindness that has grown to be the norm here in Mormon country. Obviously there was the normal cool stuff too, all the memorials, the museums, the normal tourist attractions, all very cool. Overall, I approve of Washington DC, this is a place I would like to return to.
On the other hand however, we also spent a day in New York City, this was quite different I must say. New York was probably the dirtiest, grungiest and must terrible place I have ever been, and I've been to many placed. People in New York are just straight up ass-holes for no reason, they have no regard for each other and no regard for their city. The city streets, buildings, subways and parks were piled with garbage. People always talk about NYC being such a busy place, this is true, but it's ridiculous, it's as if people were so lost in the commotion and the day to day stuff that they have lost their personality and humanity, it was almost scary. This is a place I wouldn't mind avoiding.
The most important thing I pulled out of this trip was something I learned about American culture and potentially the future of our country. Like I mentioned before, we checked out dozens of museums and monuments. However, the truly interesting thing was the audience these things attracted. We essentially trapped in an ethnic, multicultural, multinational sea. Everywhere we went, is seemed that English was not the predominant language. It seemed that German and Chinese were the most prevalent, with the occasional French and Indian tourists. What was really interesting though was that these were the people which seemed to care the most and display the most interest in our nation and its artifacts. Bombshell eh?
Of course, there was plenty of American citizens touring the place, but they didn't seem to care, particularly the younger people, people my age and less. We would be standing in places filled with history, like in the Lincoln Memorial, or in the Smithsonian, they would be walking around texting on their phones, looking lost, asking when they could leave, and most importantly, disrespecting the ground they were standing on.
It was truly frighting to me, that this is the future of our country. People don't really seem to give a damn about anything anymore, they care more about themselves and useless things then what's truly important.
Something needs to change with this, I'm not sure what because I'm not sure what the root problem is but it's bad, and it's what we must do if this country is to remain at the top of the world. Perhaps it's the American education system, teaching kids to lack accountability, responsibility, respect. Or maybe it's lies on the shoulders of parents, parents who lack the courage to teach their children the same qualities.
This is a damn long post, but I think their's some important things in it, that whoever reads this, if anybody, should think about.
