— Articles covering the United States of America
The 72nd All American Soapbox Derby welcomed over 500 families from 43 states and 3 foreign countries to Akron, Ohio. Race week hosted numerous events from July 20-26, 2009, including museum displays, a historic derby car display, a dance, a variety of dinners and clinics, and not to mention, the racing!
I'm standing in sand. The sun is blazing over Fort Bliss, Texas. Ten miles south, just beyond the US border with Mexico, drug cartels are murdering people by the hundreds. Open source reports put the number of dead at more than 1000 since January. The sand is so hot that I can feel the heat through the soles of my boots.
Hate is powerful. It finds its home in meat. It isolates a person, a group, or a concept and pins its aggression to the chest of the target. It provides an illusory freedom, giving a brief respite from powerlessness. It abandons and overrides the rational mind. It strengthens the weak, the debased, the undisciplined for greater self-induced degradation. It is the readily available, easy, thoughtless answer for those whose minds are a mysterious and unused organ, encased in a body devoid of a sensed worth. It makes brutality an appealing tonic, a drink swallowed that batters you until you share it.
"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right." -Confucius
The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America (NHPA) is preparing its first centennial celebration. The 100th Horseshoe Pitching World Championship is scheduled for July 27-August 8 in Springfield, Illinois.
If the pitcher is God unfurling fate, then the batter is man, facing a 90 mile-an-hour unleashing of reality, making nanosecond decisions. It's bravery to even inhabit the batter's box. Most remain in the stands, or next to a radio, or in their living room in front of the television, meditatively seeking inspiration to bring to their daily challenges. They're engaged by the mystery and beauty of a simple, powerful game called “base.”
America is unique among nations because it is a nation of immigrants. Immigrants who came to a wild land and sought to construct an ideal society. Gleaning history of its successful and unsuccessful governmental processes, the minds of the great philosophers, and their own experiences, the Founding Fathers stripped government of pretense and an ability to oppress. They pursued checks of power. These wise men understood the character of man deeply, and created a government forced to walk hand in hand with its citizens while guaranteeing vital freedoms.
When you are embedded in a group of soldiers, you learn a lot about the American identity. This is particularly true if the soldiers are going to war.
I got a text message calling me a [expletive] ten different ways. That could only mean one thing--Mike was back from Iraq. I called him. We cursed each other out. Then we made plans to drink. “Freedom isn’t free, mother [expletive],” he said. “So buy me beer.” It was the least I could do. He’d just spent 18 months in the sandbox, and I was dying to hear about his experiences, particularly because I was getting ready to go to the sandbox.