Some things I'm thinking about today...

With 11 days left on the Coast, I'm doing really well with the packing stuff. I've sent stuff home with parents and am getting ready to ship some more things today. This may be the first time in my life I'm not throwing things willy nilly into my backseat hours before driving home. I'm very proud of myself.

I'm excited that my trip home is going to be bookended by parties. I'm having a "packing party" here before I leave and I'll be greeted with a party at home when I get back. Very nice.

In two weeks I will be 23 years old. Sometimes this feels very old and sometimes very young.

This past weekend I had one of the top 48 hour periods of my life. Friday included, a Gator/Swamp Tour with Cajun music, a BBQ, Cajun dancing, and a horrible cover band. Saturday, not to be outdone by Friday, included Waffle House, Tattoos, coffee and frisbee, and a carnival with pirates and pig racing.

First Church Boonton will be here in 3 days! I'm very excited to show off my "home" away from home and to see my church family. I'm praying that everything goes smoothly and that it's not too hot here, but that might be asking alot.

Lastly, I'm thinking of something Michael Moore said on The View today. If you are not familiar with Moore, he's the controversial documentary director of Bowling for Columbine and Farenheit 911. He's also written alot of books like Stupid White Men and Dude, Where's My Country. I think he's great but I know that's not everyone's opinion. His new movie, Sicko, looks at the health care system in our country as opposed to other nations. The trailer notes that we are ranked #37 in the World, right above Slovania. This is all beside the point though. Mostly I liked that he compared Socialism with Christianity, pointing out that Jesus said we should what we have with those less fortunate, that we should take care of the poor and hungry, giving up our own material possessions. I like this because I myself believe in Socialism because I think it's Christian. This tends to ruffle some feathers in our nation (which, in fact was created on and continues to refer to Christian principles) because "Communism has never succeeded". To that, I say, it has never been accurrately tried, and I would add, Capitalism has never been accurrately tried since there has always been racial/gender issues preventing it's actual practice- the harder you work the more you will gain. How do we place a value on women making sneakers for pennies a day, 15 hours a day vs. the CEO of Nike working in an office and going golfing with business associates? Both work equally hard, yet only one makes the millions of dollars that CEO does.

Anyway, I digress.

Mostly, I like to see a Christian Liberal on television quoting Jesus. It makes me feel less alone in the World. Furthermore, while Moore was talking about healthcare specifically, the principle can be applied anywhere. There's alot of frivolity here next door to a lot of poverty. I think there must be a way to equalize the two. Maybe not to make everyone live in the same exact house, but at least to get everyone to a livable condition.

I know there are some things I could be giving up for the cause, but am afraid to let go of. What are you holding on to?