Happy Birthday, America. Get Well Soon

I did something decidedly unpatriotic today. I went to see Sicko, a movie that helped to lay bare the horrible reality of America. I wanted to post today about how glad I am to live in the US, and sure, it is better than other places. It isn't the worst place in the world, yet.

I thought of the saying in the title before seeing the movie, and I don't want to create another patronizing post about the problems in this country. We've got commercials for cars that only a few people can actually afford. We have kids in the south dying from toohaches. We have a woman who bled to death in a hospital waiting room.

But no, my post isn't going to be about that movie - at least not here. I'll save my pontifications for other blogs. No, my post here is about the previews I saw before the movie.

The first was for a movie about love, and I was interested because the first romance was between two women. However, as the preview went on, I quickly became aware that the movie was about an old man and a young man talking about and coping with love - sometimes theirs, sometimes that of other people. It was a movie from the male perspective. Then there was a movie about one young man's adventure into the wilderness, he even burned his social security card. My favorite was the western that had one - ONE woman in the ENTIRE PREVIEW. Finally, even Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't seem to find a SINGLE WOMAN that cared about global warming to put in the preview for his movie.

Thank you, Hollywood, for reminding me that my perspective isn't important. Thank you for reminding me that only men are entertaining. Thank you. See if I spend my disposable income on you in the future.