View of U.S. from Bolivia

In preparation for my October trip, I've become a regular reader of Blog from Bolivia. It usually features top-notch political analysis, punctuated by charming descriptions of life in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It's a great blog, and an example of the sort of writing I would never have see in a pre-blog world.

Jim Schultz, the author, is in the U.S. right now, and, this morning, he posted a wonderfully bemused take on life here. Here's an excerpt:

And the baby strollers!! I saw a four week old today in a Washington restraint who was being wheeled about in a vehicle bigger than my first two cars. Now I don’t own a car but I do own a stroller, a little umbrella version. Mariana, our two year old, has never complained. We race in it at top speed in our yard now. She rides, I push.

There is hope here of course, valiant young people especially dedicated to knocking some sense into a country choking on materialism. Hey, I am not being self-righteous here. I ate a cinnamon raisin bagel today, went to Starbucks yesterday and coveted the electronics section in a Staples store. Viruses are an equal opportunity infection and who among us is immune.

Okay, perhaps I should never be locked in an airplane cabin for five hours with a laptop and a frenzied imagination. But really, USA, just between you and me. Don’t you think it is all just getting a little too weird?

It makes for interesting reading.