Rediscovering America

We're back. In the States that is. Not that we were gone a long time - just three months. But our time apart has made everything - the sights, the sounds, the bad television - seem so much sharper and vivid upon my return.

Our first days back in the U.S. I noticed how big we are. I live in the LAND of BIG. I'm not talking fat. I'm talking big. Some of it's fantastic - our parks, our confidence, our generosity, diversity, willingness to take risks, our ability to bounce back from failure and to persevere.

Some of it's kind of depressing - our consumption, our waistlines, our obsession with The Hills. Some of it makes me mad - our hypocrisy.

It's not all bad. For one, and for all of our griping, our political and economic systems are pretty sweet. I realize it's a simplification. We have our problems. We also don't seem to have a problem getting meat to grocery stores. (See Where's the beef? blog post)

And our people - despite our egos, our misunderstandings, our fears - are pretty damn nice. I never really thought of ourselves as the go-above-and-beyond-friendly types. But after taking a leisurely drive from Wisconsin to Colorado and down to Arizona I am convinced that there is a lot of hope in this country and a lot of hope FOR this country.

I also can't explain how great it is - a relief almost - to come home and walk around, ride the bus, take a taxi, whatever and to see our citizens and those trying to become citizens in every different shape, size and color imaginable. I'm not really sure if Americans realize how unique we are, how our strength is buried somewhere in the folds of our differences.