There's a Reason People Don't Live in the Woods/Desert/Swamp Anymore

It's because you will fuckin' die out there. Want evidence? Here you go...

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/8541780

Evan Tanner... DEAD! Who's Evan Tanner? He's a fighter, having gained some fame for his work in the UFC. That's not really important, other than Mr. Tanner was one of those people who liked to wander out in to the middle of nowhere as if such excursions build character or piddly nonsense like that.

I live in a town where parts of 'Into the Wild' were filmed. That's the movie of a spoiled rich twat deciding to eschew his privilidged life in favor of wandering the country trying to find himself. Sounds nice, huh? Yeah, he starved to death up in Alaska.

There are a lot of people around here who share his attitude, if not his dedication. They spend time camping or hunting or fishing, which is fine, I'd like to take up a little hunting myself this fall.

What I can't understand is why people want to go backward instead of forward. They like to pretend that 50, 60, 100, 200 years ago life was simpler. Not only simpler, but better. How is that, exactly? Is it so terrible that you don't have to worry about starving to death, that instead you can go to a grocery store? How is that bad?

If life was more simple years ago it was simply because people and ideas were more isolated than they are today. That's why people have to put so much effort into shutting themselves out and off. Here's what I mean... people try to simplify things by blocking out the changing realities of this country by clinging to lifestyles and thought processes that have become anitquated.

No one else, at least no developed country, is as backwards when it comes to religion and religious thought as this country. Why we are still having the evolution discussion is difficult to understand. I know I can't.

I believe Sarah Palin is a creationist. That is, she thinks Jesus and his dad created Adam and Eve out of dirt 6000 years ago and we all descend from them. That, of course, is criminally stupid and also insane. Why is it so difficult for Americans to accept that humans are simply a product of evolution? Not only that, but the highest form of life in the evolutionary chain. That's a GOOD thing, god dammit.

There's a lot of people who think like the potential vice president does. It seems like many of these troglodytes live around here.

We've got to become better than this. The United States is being surpassed in almost every aspect by nations that used to look to the United States as a model. They aren't doing that anymore, I can assure you. Why would they? A large portion of our population hasn't progressed from a cold war mind set, for shit's sake. People still believe that the rest of the world looks to us for protection and guidance from the barbarians.

That is bullshit. The rest of the world is more than happy to take our money, or in some cases, loan us money, but beyond that they have no use for American ideals. Again, why would they? This is a natural result of electing a string of well dressed chimpanzees to the presidency since the mid 70's. America's last competant president may well have been Richard Nixon. Do you realize the terrible implications of that statement? Richard Nixon continually wiped his ass with the constitution and any notion of executive restraint, and he was probably the last worthwhile leader this nation has had.

How can we take the point for the rest of the world when we've no one to take the point for us? There is no good reason that the U.S. should NOT be leading the pack in development of renewable energy and stem cell research, yet we aren't. NO on the renewable energy because big oil co-owns the government along with the pharmaceutical industry, and NO on stem cell research because it offends Jesus.

So, how do things get better?

They won't. People will still go to church and go camping in order to preserve the fictional 'good ol' days.'