Road trips. I think more people should take them.

I spent some time with a friend from a small town last night. He doesn't get out of town much and he doesn't see the need to. He talks about other cultures and ethnicities like we're back in the 50's. Occassionally I have to take him aside and tell him that he can think what he wants, but if he keeps talking about the Asians/Hispanics/Homosexuals out loud, he's going to get his ass kicked by the large group of them somewhere in hearing distance. Sometimes I think perhaps I'm the weirdo - we grew up in the same place, in the same family, etc. - and then I come back to my senses and realize that moving away from there got me out of an environment that fosters and approves of small-mindedness and bigotry. Who knows? I would probably support Bush and never appreciate what a total dork he is :) And who would want to pass up an opportunity like that?

What makes me sad is that this is most of America. In fact, it is most of the world. It is human nature that any place where there is a relatively small, homogeneous group of people, there will grow an intolerance for outsiders/minorities/OTHERS. Sometimes, it doesn't even have to be a small, homogeneous group in fact - if people perceive that their group is somehow threatened by another group (even if it is the simple existence of that other group, and the only threat they pose is change), then intolerance miraculously appears. For instance, in California, there is no small, homogeneous group of people in the whole state (except Los Altos). You'd think that would make people more accepting of other cultures and more tolerant of things that are not a daily part of their life. But I find that, except in certain very special places, this is not the case at all. And it makes me sad. And sometimes I get depressed about it - when will it change? Can it change? I have a friend who met someone recently who did not believe in basic human rights. It is hard to understand this, but I have to accept his viewpoint in order to stay true to my own. The paradox is very diffiicult to get used to. Argh!!