How long will America last?

I sometimes wonder if I'll be around to see the "former United States" - you know, kind of like the "former Soviet Union." I doubt it, but it wouldn't bother me much. Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate to have been born in the "land of plenty." But we just seem so arrogant sometimes. And our priorities are all wrong. And there's corruption in our government, just as in other "less-fortunate" countries. Part of me wants to believe that the powers that be actually have good intentions. But the "older and wiser" I become, the more I see that money motivates EVERYTHING... and it kinda sickens me.

Like, did you know that there's technology out there that allows a car to get over 200 mpg? Do you think oil companies want you to know about it? Hell, no. And I'm sure you realize that WAY more people die from alcohol related deaths (primarily drunk drivers) than marijuana related deaths? Yet even owning papers can get you a misdemeaner? Primarily because 70 years ago, Nylon makers were jealous of the strength of Hemp. And then there's the fact that we've royally pissed off most of the developed world with our foreign policy to "police" the globe. Who do we think we are anyway?

Have the powers that be forgotten that this is supposed to be a "free" country? I personally think it's just a matter of time before we piss off someone armed with insane nuclear technology or (god forbid) control of all the fossil fuels (pretty much a given) so bad that they finally say "Screw you gluttonous Americans!" and wipe out our "great country" in the push of a button. I hope I'm visiting another country when it happens.

I was a big fan of Y2K. I was hoping that all hell would break loose so that I wouldn't have to pay back my student loans. Let's just say I was sorely disappointed at midnight on 01.01.00.

And now for something kinda different - as soon as mj is legal in any of the 50 United States, I will have a new address. You might say my priorites are a bit skewed... but I voted for the Libertarian.

What will you do with your one wild and precious life?

Publish a novel.
Become a master.
Start a school.
Salsa dance in Mexico.
Spend a summer in Rio.
Walk the Great Wall.
Ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad from St. Petersburg to Beijing.
Find a pirate ship in Amsterdam.
See the birthplace of Jesus.
Swim in the Mediterranean.
Raise children.
Read the Bible in its entirety.
Renovate an old house.
Spoil grandchildren.
Reform America's education accountability problems.
Finish a triathalon.
Learn Spanish.
Live in NYC.
Have a beach house.
Sky-dive.

What about you?

I'm sure the word blog has some kind of origin...

... but I can't for the life of me figure it out. Considering the fact that the internet as we know it didn't evolve until I was in my last years of high school, I'm OK with that. I do like the idea of typing my random thoughts into cyberspace in the hopes that someone will actually waste minutes of their "wild and precious life" (more on that later) reading my musings. I think I probably have some tidbits of wisdom to share... epiphanies that may or may not be old news to you. Bear with me.