It’s inexplicable, considering recent history, that this country allows for the easy purchase of firearms. But we also have to wonder what it is about this country that produces so many people who wish to use them indiscriminately.
Walking into the gym the other day I saw one of the boaters, who tend to avoid the place, on the treadmill.
"New Year's resolution?" I asked him.
"No," he said. "I usually get my exercise outside. But my phone told me my activity level was low recently."
I almost said to him: Time to get a new phone.
This weekend’s reviews of the life of Bob Dole reminded us of a time when politicians could disagree on the issues but still get along and treat each other with respect. Much of that, I suspect, was due to the fact that, like Dole, many of them served in the armed forces during World War II, when one was thrown into contact with Americans from different backgrounds and cultures. For the most part, today’s Congresspeople have not had the same exposure to people unlike themselves, including those who served in the military. More and more, we live and interact with our own tribes, an unfortunate situation that is only made worse by the new identity culture.
At a party Saturday night I got talking to a woman who moved here from South Korea when she was 10. I asked her if she'd been the target of any racism recently, and she said no. While not denying that there have been attacks on Asian-Americans, she said that, all in all, Americans are a pretty tolerant and accepting people.
"We set the bar so high here," she said. "These people who think America is a racist country should go outside it and see what other countries are like."