Goddammit.

[ceebeegee]

I'm freezing in my building today. It's a beautiful sunny afternoon in the middle of August and I'm sitting here at my desk wrapping my hands around a cup of hot water. On Friday when I swung by here, one of the floors on the ground level that opens out onto the street had its door open, blasting arctic air onto the sidewalk.

PEOPLE, WE JUST HAD THE BIGGEST, LONGEST BLACKOUT IN US HISTORY. The mayor and all the media have been urging us not to use too much energy. Not to use major appliances if possible. The power is still iffy. It's a thickly concentrated city and we barely have enough power as it is. What about this is so fucking difficult to understand? Oh, right--the part where you might have to sacrifice a smidgen of comfort for the greater good.

God. I love my country and my culture, and normally I dislike anything that smacks of Convenient Big Target America-Bashing! [aka This is What's Wrong with Our Country! (tm)] So, caveat--this is a rant, not a cogent, well-thought out argument or thesis. But Americans can be so goddamn selfish sometimes. God forbid we suffer the slightest personal inconvenience. No, I have to get that SUV even if it blocks everyone else's way and gets 2 MPG! I have to be able to see over everybody! I have to have an AC unit in every room--no open windows for me! More room--build that McMansion!

We are so goddamn spoiled. Try visiting Iraq right about now. 125 degrees--now that's hot.

Comments

[minstrel70.livejournal.com]

I never did understand either how conservation was incompatible with capitalism. It's all about choices. I choose to turn off my A/C when I leave the house, knowing it'll be hot for 15 minutes when I get home. Does that make me a bad capitalist? I don't have a family of 8, so I don't need an Envoy, Expedition, or Navigator. Am I a bad capitalist? I don't begrudge those vehicles to those who actually need them, but I'm not one. I'm with you on the America-bashing. But there are obnoxious idiots here that give the rest of us citizens of America and the world a bad name...

Glad you made it through the blackout ok. I was concerned.

Come to Hoboken soon. There's a bunch of us here who miss you :)

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

I dislike America-bashing--or that of any country--because the thinking is just so easy. The war is all about oil! American press is too monolithic! The French are cheese-eating cowards who send Americans to fight their wars! Simplistic platitudes that stymie insight and thoughtful discussion. It's frustrating, because I sometimes feel as a "good liberal" I'm expected to bash the Big Bad American Bully more. [Expletive deleted] that. America's a great country and as a feminist I'm damn glad I grew up here. Things are a lot worse for women in some other countries.

Aw. Aw! Thanks. I'll be out there soon--As You Like It is taking up a lot of my time right now.