Barrier

Today at work a little boy wandered into the home electronics department. He couldn't have been older than 3 and a half years old, probably closer to 3. My co-worker and I looked down at him and smiled. He stopped in front of us. "What do you need? Do you need to buy that?" my co-worker asked. He looked a little uncertain. Then I heard a voice speaking Spanish coming from the other side of the aisle, just outside the department. The little boy looked bemusedly from us to the speaker, who I assume was his father. Then I realized what was happening. The little boy was being sent into the department to buy the DVD he was holding or ask a question for his father, who was standing 10 feet away using the aisle as a barrier between himself and my co-worker and me.

This awkward moment sort of symbolized the struggle of the family, of our culture, and of our country as a whole to co-exist with others whom we don't understand. This little boy was so young he can barely speak either English OR Spanish, yet was forced to be a go-between for grown adults because neither side of the aisle had been given or taken the opportunity to learn the language of the other side. This lack of ability to communicate, and the innocent caught in the middle, and most interestingly the barrier that separated us, this obstacle, this bulwark, evoked an image of partisan politics that wrenches our country apart and leaves us standing confused and unable to function. Somehow we've become a nation with so much mistrust and shame that we've become the father, the son, the employee, and the store itself, unable to ask for help, unsure what help to ask for, and unable to give help even if we did know what was needed, and everybody spending valuable time and money trying to figure it out.

Fat

I think I'm getting more conservative in my old age, which makes me sad. But I can't help it if I feel like obese people should have to pay for two seats if they take up two seats. My airline ticket price shouldn't go up because other people have medical/ size issues. Airlines will certainly lose money if they have (half) empty seats that aren't paid for, which will probably cause all ticket prices to increase. Am I becoming more greedy? I think poverty is taking its toll on my values. I'm not sure what the old me would have thought of this. And I know I'm no republican--not by a long shot. I'm just not so sure that fat acceptance is a great movement. Being fat is deadly, and we should be doing what we can to stop it in a kind, inclusive, non-discriminatory way. I don't think that making accommodations with possible economic repercussions for everybody is the way to stop it.

Neighbors

People tend to seek homogeneous neighborhoods. It makes them feel safer to live with others like them. It seems almost wrong to have a neighborhood of inter-income facilities. But it also, on a much deeper level, seems more right.