The Red Pill

You may have noticed that my little soul hasn't posted in a while.  Well, that's because I have been feeling like I'm living in the movie "The Matrix."



 Does anybody else feel this way?  When did I swallow the red pill?  Seriously, WHEN?  Because I feel like most people are just living in a daze, not understanding or knowing what is actually happening in the country.  I am really wondering when everyone else is going to wake up and smell the crazy.

I don't think I realized how counter-cultural I was becoming until Catholicism was getting so much media attention with the HHS mandate.  Oy.

First of all, I dislike using the term "counter-cultural" because when you do a google image search for this term, you either find things that have peace signs plastered all over the place or communist propaganda.  Again, I say OY.  I just have this feeling that what others consider the "norm" nowadays is something I am rapidly running away from.

Signs that I am moving toward a "counter-cultural" lifestyle (and, perhaps, a sign of impending doom):

1.  I want to get rid of my television.  Don't get me wrong, I want to keep local channels because I live in tornado alley without a basement to retreat to.  However, even American Idol, Grey's Anatomy, and reruns of Friends don't keep my attention anymore.  I'd honestly rather be sleeping.

2.  I can no longer listen to mainstream music.  This is especially disturbing to me since I work as a music therapist.  I listen to contemporary christian music on the radio and occasionally I listen to music that was popular during my high school years (Nirvana, STP, etc.).  However, this is few and far between.

3.  I don't care about celebrities.  At all.  Movie releases, award shows, gossip, TMZ, and all that is related could just as well not exist and I would be a-okay.  I've never really been one to be a celeb-bot (well, except for that phase in fifth and sixth grade with NKOTB), but I used to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about people.  Now, I have no clue.  But honestly, who really cares.  Not this girl.

4.  I openly admit to people that I watch/listen Glenn Beck, and I don't care what they think about that.  I used to be a closeted Glenn Beck lover.  You know what I'm talking about...  You meet someone and you basically have to talk in code to find out you both like Beck.  This is followed by a ginormous sigh of relief and a smile.

5.  I'm really not interested in fashion anymore.  I'm worried about function that looks good on me.  Perhaps this is age-related more than anything, but I did fluorescent colors when I was in 6th grade, and I don't feel like reliving that time in history.

Does anyone else feel this way?  Do you feel like something is changing?  Can you feel the cultural momentum?

Poop Poop ba-Doop

Okay.  I just have to blog about this because it makes me crazy.  Did anyone else listen to Glenn Beck's radio show this week and hear his story about going to a New York City playground with his kids?  Oh my.  Watch it here.

To make a long story short, Glenn took his kids to a NYC playground only to witness two children urinate and one child defecate under money bars.  When the parent realized what was going on, she did not reprimand the children, but rather just said to not play under there anymore.  AND when the parent wasn't closely watching the children returned to the area to make sand castles in the human waste.  And when I say children, I mean girls that were about 6 or 7 - 1st graders.

What is this world coming to?  I heard this story live on the radio, and I had no words.  I think my jaw hit the floor and I had a new appreciation for living in "fly over country" and not New York City.  If that happened at a playground in St. Charles, I think other adults would say something and have a cow.  Don't you think??!  Would you have said something to the kids or the adult if you saw some first grader pooping under the monkey bars?  I think I would have, because of simple human decency!  ARG!

I find it amazing how if you allow your DOG to poop in public and you don't pick up the droppings that you get a fine and it is against the law (and others will call you out if you don't pick it up), but apparently it's okay to let 6 year old girls to do that same thing.  Are we turning into animals?  In the city of St. Louis, it's against the law to smoke a cigarette in public, but you can poop in NYC and no one will say anything.  This is just sick and disturbing.

Lord help me if I ever have to live somewhere besides the Midwest or Texas.