"Murica"

This is a little bit awkward... I missed blogging on July 4th.  And now it is the 11th.  So it has been long enough that people are starting to forget there was just a holiday and they are already marking their calendars to count the days until the next one.  But, I want to write a blog about America.  Well no.  Not America.  I want to write about this whole "Murica" phenomenon.  I know, I know, July 4th has come and gone.  But today lets just pretend like it is July 4th again so I can write this blog and not feel like a failure for writing it seven days late.  Thank you.  Ok so Murica.  Not to be confused with the United States of America which is "a federal republic consisting of fifty states and a federal district."  I'm talking about Murica, the overly disgusting image we create of America as cut off shirts, short shorts and american flag trucker hats.  Have you noticed this?  I find it most at tailgates and large sporting events.  Basically anywhere there is a lot of beer drinking going on.  People who you would normally see prancing around in khaki shorts and a pastel colored polo suddenly are breaking out the cowboy boots they probably bought for $300 at Urban Outfitters and wearing an American flag as a cape.  For lack of a better word, they try to make themselves look like rednecks.  (I like to refer to these people as Reds.  Because they aren't actually rednecks they just try to be.)   Why?  What is this phenomenon?  Why do people who normally don't walk around declaring their love for their country suddenly feel the need to chant "U. S. A., U. S. A." the moment they start drinking beer?  I honestly just don't understand.  Maybe I am missing out.  Maybe it is super fun and I just don't know it.  I guess for me, I just don't feel like parading around, playing into the stereotypes that people already have about Americans.  Don't get me wrong, I love living in the United States and I am proud of where I come from.  And I do like to be goofy and have fun.  But I think when the next tailgate comes around, I will just stick to my regular jean shorts and a t-shirt.  Maybe I will throw in one U.S.A. chant, just for kicks!   But probably not...

Lets Talk About the Weather

I know I have mentioned this in a prior post, but if you aren't a frequent visitor of the state of Indiana, there is something you should know about it.  The weather is about as unpredictable as an episode of Game of Thrones.  It is a lot less gorey and inappropriate for young audiences than the show but the plot twists are just as drastic.  Sometimes I go to work in the morning with the sun shining, 85 degrees and beautiful, only to find a torrential downpour by lunch and then dang near tornado activity by the time I go home for the day. (today)  You never know what you are going to get.  I could make a Forrest Gump reference here but I will refrain.  There is also the fun fact that along with elevators and heights, tornados are my biggest fear.  You may be thinking, "Chloe, how could tornados be your biggest fear if you have never experienced one and they rarely happen in your area? That is totally illogical!"  Well condescending blog reader, they just are.  Every time I hear the wind pick up outside I assume that it will be turning into a funnel cloud within moments.  I check the weather channel like a mad person and freak when I see green, yellow, and the always terrifying reds and purple splatter painted across the radar.  I'm that person who will go sleep in the basement in the middle of the night because I can't sleep when I hear the storms a-brewin' outside. (sorry for that random hillbilly moment.) It is kind of ridiculous.  I realize that I'm crazy.  But the first step is accepting you have a problem right? Right.  I think that the biggest reason why they scare me is because  I have absolutely no control over them.  I can't predict them, and even if I could, all I can do is cower in fear and hope a tornado doesn't swoop me up like the Wizard of Oz.  When I think of it like this, it doesn't seem quite so crazy.  Because I think deep down, everyone gets scared of the things they have no power over. Of the things they just cannot understand or control. And it causes so many issues and arguments for us.  It seems to be the root of a lot of those "controversial topics" we like to spend all of our time stressing and fighting over.  Whether it is about religion, science, abortion, war, mental illness, sexuality, race... anything.  I think that a lot of the time, it comes down to a fear of the unknown.  And it is understandable.  It is hard to accept what we don't understand.  It is hard to grasp something when it lies out of our reach.  But maybe, if we found a way to stop getting so hung up on the things we don't have control over, if we could just accept that no matter how much time we put into arguing and fighting with each other about these issues,  maybe we could learn to live our lives.  And watch these things that we can't control or that we don't understand play out how they will.  If we could stop cowering under blankets in the basement, watching the radar through our fingers while we cover our eyes, as if its a horror movie, we could ride out the storm and figure out our next step once the rain has ceased.  Because if you spend your life cowering in fear, or retaliating against things that are "different," things you don't understand, instead of embracing change and uncertainty, then you aren't really living.       (This all being said, if tornado sirens go off, you should seriously take cover!)