Finding the Answer(s)

Most Americans would agree that there is a single American dream-- that there is one thing that all Americans strive for. Most would also agree that this "thing" is in some way materialistic (i.e. nice house, car, good education). However, if there is one thing that all American want to achieve, it is something that all humans strive for: making sense of it all. It is a curse of being human. Everything is percieved as a mystery that must be solved. We feel compelled to simplify things that are in reality, extremely complex. Messy Middle-Eastern conflict turns into a war of good vs. evil. There is no way that our enemies could have any sense of reasonability; they only think "KILL KILL KILL!!!". Also, how silly is it to think that the only thing any American wants is a house. A house is nothing but some wood and fiberglass insulation stapled together a bunch of times (maybe a few windows if you want some natural light). I don't think there is any one answer for all the questions out there. For most humans, this idea never sinks in. They spend their entire lives finding a non-existent answer. Out of this frustration comes religion; without a concrete answer, people turn to the supernatural. Maybe. Or possibly, there is a single solution for everything. Maybe I'm completely wrong...? I guess it's just in my human nature to analyze these things.

Recount

Recently I saw the movie Recount on HBO. The movie, as the title suggests, takes a second look at the Florida Recount in the 2000 Presidential Election. As I watched, I did what any good AIS student would do: I analyzed biases. The film had a strong liberal bias, and as a democrat, it was very painful to watch the apparent injustice unfold. The whole controversy was depicted as a huge mess that boiled over in a vast right-wing conspiracy. Whether this depiction was accurate, I'll never know, but it was quite obvious that the filmmakers had an agenda to incriminate the Bush campaign. Contrarily, Al Gore was portrayed as pratically super-human. It almost seemed he was too good of a man to become president. He eventually conceited graciously even though it was apparent he would have won (should the recount had continued). I would certainly like to believe that the film was a 100% truthful portrayal of this event, but I wonder whether such a thing exists...

The Stuff Cowboys are Made of

I recently wrote my exploratory essay on the effect of frontier idealism on American politics. What does that mean? Well, whether you realize it or not, most of the politicians we see on TV embody, or at least attempt to embody, the traits supposedly pioneered (pun not intended) by the American Frontiersman.
Actually though, these traits were creations of the 20th century-long after the frontier had closed. The typical cowboy, according to author Richard Slotkin, is a rugged individualist who carries around a huge gun (think about it) and prefers the "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality. The most important asset of his to protect is his pride. He'll never give up until the enemy suffers. It fascinates me how this celluloid portrayal of "American-ness" is so prevalent today in American politics.
One example of this is how President Bush refuses pull troops out of Iraq. A removal of military presence would mean a "surrender" and would therefore be detrimental to his "cowboy" image. John Wayne says in one of his films, The Searchers, "I don't like surrenders." John Wayne was just an actor though; he portrayed a fictional character. Similarly, Bush simply refuses to look at the realistic side of the issue. He just looks at it through his cinematic lens.