Cultural Ignorance

Read, Americans are assholes.

I'm sorry, I rarely talk about politics. I barely passed the Governments class we took in high school. I have my issues that I care about deeply and if asked, I will speak my mind. But, I don't start the conversation, nor do I bother to correct stupidity, because stupidity usually comes hand-in-hand with selective hearing, and that's a lot like talking to a brick wall. But, there was this recent event reported in the news that I can't keep quiet about.

Before I start my rant, I'd like to post a disclaimer: Yes, I did vote for Obama, and I would vote for him again. No, I am not happy with some of the things he has done, or has not done. Yes, I am proud to be an American and while I often joke about moving abroad, I love living in this country and hope to live here for the rest of my days.

Recently, President Obama visited Japan where upon meeting Emperor Akihito, he bowed at an almost ninety-degree angle. This made headlines, calling the President "treasonous", and submitting to "royal dominance."

Because Heaven forbid he try to be culturally sensitive.

I took a course of Japanese at the University of Delaware. This by no means makes me an expert on the language or the culture. But, we did have an entire hour devoted to bowing properly. And even after a whole hour devoted to it, our sensei giggled and said, "You're all like little old ladies!"

I doubt the President was given a whole hour to learn how to bow properly. I bet he was told while he was on the toilet of Air Force One by an aide through a closed door and over the air conditioning, "So, you should bow when you meet the Emperor. It's the Japanese handshake."

It's true- bowing is the Japanese handshake. It is a sign of respect, especially on a professional level. It's not about submitting or dominating- It's simply respect, and that's all. By bowing to Emperor Akihito, who I might add bowed as well and even "compromised" his own culture by shaking the President's hand, President Obama wasn't being submissive, he was merely placing them on similar footing.

I'm sure all the Asian studies majors are all, "No, no, he bowed too low." I'm sure he did. Forget Japanese etiquette for a minute, and let's look at it from an American point of view: President Obama is very tall. Emperor Akihito is very short. When you meet someone who is shorter than you, but you still respect them very much, you tend to want to be eye level with them. At least, if you're polite, you want to. To stand above them is to look down on them, and to stand below them is self-demeaning. By bowing that low, the President wasn't being submissive. Once again, he was doing what he could to make them equals. Because guess what guys: WE WANT JAPAN ON OUR SIDE. And, perhaps a bit outdated, the quickest way to dissolve a political friendship is to make it personal.

America has developed an air of arrogance, purposefully ignorant of the world around us and how we're a part of it. No, seriously, news flash: The world isn't a part of us, we're a part of the world. The rest of the world regards America with slight disdain, and it isn't because they envy us. We bully, insult, and pressure other countries to see things our way, instead of trying to see it from theirs. They dislike us because, as a country, we are assholes.

Description Fail

Growing up, the part I despised most about books was the detailed description. I understand that authors were trying to convey what they saw, but there were times when what I saw was drastically different from what they described. It was quite annoying.

Only, now, as I find myself working on a book of my own, I find that I can't correctly describe what I'm seeing. A part of me doesn't want to- I want to give the readers a basic idea of what's happening, but leave a good deal of the details up to them. That's how I would have wanted it.

But, most readers prefer having every details provided for them. They want to know what color the sky is, what shoe size the main character has, even what the minor characters who have all of one line are thinking.

So, there it is. My biggest weakness: description. I can't help but think that if I had this talent, my word count would be much more than what it is. I just... I have an idea, I'm telling you about it, but you should have your own input as well.

Ugh, too many hours!

When I committed to doing NaNoWriMo this year, my work schedule was light on the hours, so I figured I'd have the time to work on it. But, my hours have picked up again, and some days I barely have time to eat, let alone write anything.

Another issue I've come up with is that I'm writing the last book of the series. I thought I had the prequels all figured out, and it made sense to write the last book because it was so fresh in my mind. Then I realized that I didn't have it all planned. So, I'm going to finish the chapter I'm working on, then start over again with the first book, the most boring of the four.

I don't think I'm making 50 thou by the end of November. Bah.

National Novel Writing Month

Ah, National Novel Writing Month. Also known as NaNoWriMo. Yeah, every year I say that I'm going to do it, but then I always get distracted.

But not this year! (And history once again repeats itself.)

I find myself compelled to blog (read: rant) about my writing process. It's hardly interesting, and probably won't be very coherent, and you'll probably think I'm crazy, but it's part of my process, therefore giving me a legit excuse to create a new blog.

I plan on writing later this evening. Let the complaining begin!