On the Oregon Trail, travelers moving west had to carefully pack their wagons so they could make it safely. If they packed too much in their wagons, they would need to discard some of their belongings on the side of the road. If they chose not to discard anything, their wagon would break down, possibly leaving them vulnerable in hostile territory, or at the very least leaving them alone to slowly die. The best thing they could have done was to not pack too much in the first place.
This can relate to us today in this materialistic world. The temptation is to gather as many belongings as we can, thinking this is what will bring us real happiness. However, when things get tough, those material posessions are what weigh us down further. If we live life now with as little as possible in our "wagons," we will make it safely to our destination: paradise!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
It's All English to Me
So the other day, I was in Wal-Mart, which is where some of America's scummiest families shop (at least in Pocatello, anyway). That might sound somewhat judgemental, but listen to my most recent experience.
My sister and I were waiting in line at the self checkout. The 
register to our right was occupied by a nice-looking Hispanic couple. They couldn't have spoken very good English, since they had the machine speaking Spanish. To our left was a white man with his maybe 10-year old daughter. I could tell he had quite the temper on him, especially after seeing the look of terror in the young girl's eyes whenever her father would speak to her. As the Hispanic couple finished putting their groceries back in their cart, April and I moved up to begin our
transaction. It was then that my little faith in the integrity of mankind was put even further to the test. I stood in shock as the angry man caught sight of the Hispanic couple leaving and said "Bye bye, spics," and even began singing the Mexican Hat Dance and laughing at them! I was frozen, chin on the ground, heart in my throat, and every muscle in my body tensed. How was it possible that, in the year 2009, someone could be so racially intolerant?
register to our right was occupied by a nice-looking Hispanic couple. They couldn't have spoken very good English, since they had the machine speaking Spanish. To our left was a white man with his maybe 10-year old daughter. I could tell he had quite the temper on him, especially after seeing the look of terror in the young girl's eyes whenever her father would speak to her. As the Hispanic couple finished putting their groceries back in their cart, April and I moved up to begin our
transaction. It was then that my little faith in the integrity of mankind was put even further to the test. I stood in shock as the angry man caught sight of the Hispanic couple leaving and said "Bye bye, spics," and even began singing the Mexican Hat Dance and laughing at them! I was frozen, chin on the ground, heart in my throat, and every muscle in my body tensed. How was it possible that, in the year 2009, someone could be so racially intolerant?Here's the kicker: this situation was much more ridiculous than I let on originally. This angry man was having quite the difficult time with the self checkout register. This was painfully obvious as the machine continually said to him "Please place the item in the bag," "Remove the last item from the bagging area," and "Please wait for assistance." As the man cursed profusely at the inanimate object in front of him, mocked the innocent passers-by (thankfully they didn't hear him) and yelled at his poor daughter, I realized the irony of the situation. Only an ignorant, self-centered racist would humiliate someone because of their race when he himself is severely lacking smarts.
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