Thoughts

I watched a show called Reservations (I think) with a chef/connoisseur named Anthony Bourdain (?sp) I think. He travels all over the world sampling native cuisine and informing us of various customs, historical landmarks events etc. This show took place in Korea and he had as a guide a very charming young Korean girl. I came in as he was taken to her family's New Year's Eve celebration which involved showing great respect to the elder family members. The grandfather sat in a room, the young guide was adorned in a ceremonial garment which was very lovely. She then entered the room and kneeled very low in front of her grandfather and as she sat up she wished him long life and many blessings in the coming year.

The family then sat down to a feast of, naturally, Korean specialities. Oh the table was full and overflowing with food and the general mood was festive. The voice over said something like, after resisting traveling to this country Anthony found a culture rich with family values and his guide, through her deep love of family and pride in her country brought him out of his snarkiness to a point where he was awash with appreciation for the land and the people.

This same host, by the way, has been known to snark at the USA, from which he hails. He seems in awe of the love people have for their country and its culture as long as it's a foreign country. He is unhappy about the latest wave of resistance to ILLEGAL immigration to his country. I guess he doesn't see that Americans are basically law and order types. I know it's hard to grasp that when you see the antics of our politicians, especially the stellar examples in Congress this week. Why is it that waving a flag is only OK if it's not an American flag. Why do the elitist press and snarky upper privileged group of semi celebs feel that we Americans have no culture, have no customs worth admiring and whatever we have historically should be sneered at or buried. I don't get it.