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Friday Morning Ramblings

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When I looked at the memo regarding grades, I read that they were due 5-6-11, so I spent the last two weeks grading feverishly to be done by today.  Yesterday at about 4:30, a colleague informed me that grades aren’t due until 5-9-11.  I’m not dyslexic and don’t normally invert numbers or letters, but this time I did.  The bad news is that I pushed myself excessively for no real reason.  The good news is that I’m done with grading.  After graduation tomorrow and tying up a few loose ends on Monday, I’m free from the college for a month.  All of my attention and energy can now be directed onto the farm and the final edit of book three (By the way, be looking for an announcement about The Fall of Dorkhun next week).

Last night, I was so exhausted I fell asleep around 8:30 and didn’t stir until 6:15.  I had forgotten to turn off the alarm on my phone or I probably wouldn’t have awakened then.  I’ve experienced both physical and mental exhaustion, and while neither one is pleasant, I’ll take physical every single time.  Mental exhaustion is excruciating.  When my brain is taxed, I can’t concentrate on anything and even menial tasks (like reading the date on a memo) become difficult.  Also, there’s an element of stress that comes with mental exhaustion that’s absent with physical exertion.

Today, I’m going to head out to the farm and get a little work done.  I’m not sure what I’ll focus on, but there’s plenty to do, so I’ll find something.  Mostly, I just want to get back in the groove of working on the building and recuperate from the end of this semester.  Please, keep an eye out for that announcement about book three, and in case I don’t get to write another post before Sunday, happy Mother’s Day to all the moms.

General Posts

Patriotic Ramblings – Part Two

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I’m ashamed of my fellow Americans.  Ashamed of you.  On Monday, we had an opportunity to pull together and begin healing as a nation, but instead of celebrating an American victory over al-Qaeda, we’ve spent the week having yet another political pissing match over who should get the credit or the blame.  Democrats have sounded like gloating jerks, “Nah, nah, our president got him.”  And Republicans have sounded like sour grapes losers, “Well, the ni…er…socialist didn’t have anything to do with it.”  Then, we have the conspiracy theorists who don’t believe that Bin Laden is dead or that he had anything to do with 9-11.

It’s sickening to watch and hear.  All of you who have taken this moment and politicized it, from Rush Limbaugh to Rashard Mendenhall to every last individual who has denigrated the bravery of the Navy Seals who pulled it off, the Commander-in-Chief who ordered it, and every person in between who contributed to it, should hang your heads in shame for disgracing our country this week.  All of you are pathetic, power-hungry hate mongers who are ripping our country apart.

We don’t need an enemy like al-Qaeda to destroy us because we have you doing their jobs for them.  There aren’t words for how disgusted I am by the pettiness and vulgarity I’ve witnessed from my country this week.  The victory was an American one, but this week has quickly dissolved into a loss because of the stupidity of partisans who can’t let go of their own selfish political interests long enough to celebrate national pride.

After 9-11, we set aside politics for several months and fixed our resolve on bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice.  On Sunday night, I was proud to be an American, proud to be part of a country that could display such resolve.  By Wednesday afternoon, I am ashamed of my nation, of the incessant bickering and squabbling over partisanship.  I am ashamed of all of you for taking what could have been a turning point for our nation, a return to what once made us so great, and turning it into a tasteless joke.

You don’t deserve to call yourselves Americans.

General Posts

Patriotic Ramblings

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Dear Mr. Bin Laden:

I’m not sure how much time Satan will give you for Internet surfing during your stay in hell, but on the off-chance that you get the opportunity to read this, I thought I’d drop you a note to express my sentiments as an ordinary American.

We’re not a perfect nation; yes, we have our issues.  We sometimes bicker about trivial issues while major problems fester.  To outsiders, we may seem immoral and unruly because of the opportunity to self-govern, which does at times manifest itself in peculiar fashions.  Yes, we sometimes overvalue materialism and come across as crass and unsophisticated.  Few of us would deny that we are still a work in progress.

But Mr. Bin Laden, you underestimated us as a collective.  While we may bicker amongst ourselves, sometimes viciously, when our way of life is threatened, we will rally together and defend each other to the death.  We are not Democrats and Republicans; we are Americans.  When someone attacks us, we will protect ourselves, and we will pursue our enemies as far as we have to go.  We are not a weak collaboration of backwards tribes cobbled together to resemble a country.  We are the United States of America, the nation that gave birth to democracy for the world, the nation that turned the tide of WWII, and the nation that stared down the Soviet Union without blinking.  We are the nation of nations, the Great Experiment.

On Sept. 11, 2001, you thought we would fear that a coup was occurring and that pandemonium would erupt across the country, but that’s not how we do things here.  We vote.  We decide who leads us, and if those leaders don’t meet our expectations, we kick them out, not with bloodshed and violence, but with the democratic process.  On 9-11, despite the fear and chaos, we didn’t panic and rip apart at the seams.  We came together, rallied around our flag, and vowed to get you.

Yesterday, we made good on that vow.  Despite a political change at the presidency and two shifts of leadership in the House and a plethora of issues dogging our country, we maintained our resolve, just as we told you we would.  Despite our many flaws, we are still the greatest nation this world has ever known, and I still believe that we, the American people, have the ability to solve all of our problems because of our diversity, our self-governance, our determination, and our spirit that comes from the liberties we share.  To some, those words may seem hollow and empty, but for the vast majority of us in this nation, they have real meaning.

We are the land of the free.  We are the beacon of liberty in this world.  You underestimated us, Mr. Bin Laden, but yesterday, you came face to face with the best we have to offer.  Now, enjoy your time in hell.

Sincerely,

D. A. Adams