The lives of others. Living on the surface. Our lives.

A youngish middle-aged German woman I met at a talk at the Seattle Art Museum several months ago were chatting at the-pre talk Happy Hour...

What remains most vividly about our conversation was when she stated not as a criticism but as an observation that

 "Americans are...rather...superficial."


It seems to me that we as Americans, most of us at least, live on the surface, whether we read The New York Times or not.

I cannot and would not deny...

This is what much of my anger is about.  And presumably others' as well.

Not just the War on Terror...not the state of race...not the economy...

Can we really be content (or fulfilled) living on the surface?

But the lack of depth in our lives, which is translated as "Bigger...faster...louder...more violent, more Punch-and-Judy, MORE..."



And this is what needs changing, above all, in this country.

And in the world, for our culture dominates it, we export it, and others passively receive and regurgitate it in various forms.