Lonely in Mountain View

Wednesday, July 14
I awoke early and donned my Son of Liberty outfit in order to be at my sidewalk post before the morning traffic. I had previously picked a spot where I might interact with people and arrived at 6:45 A.M. armed with copies of the Bill of Rights. In less than one minute a sheriff pulled up and asked what I was doing. I politely replied that I did not have to tell him but would voluntarily do so. This response made him sit up straighter in his seat and I then told him of my mission. He was a nice man and after listening said he supported what I was doing fully and handed me $20 wanting to help me out. Imagine that - a sheriff giving me a donation. His generosity warmed me.

After that interaction, things slowed down - how is that possible? The problem with many of our communities is that they are vehicular based. Mountain View, like Caldwell, is spread out over a large area with no one central core in which citizens interact in passing. In two hours I had received handfuls of waves from passing cars but not one pedestrian walked by. Four car drivers did pull over - three wanted to talk and one wanted to "save me" and gave me a Bible (that's two so far). A surprisingly hot 9:00 A.M. sun sent me home early and discouraged. What today serves as our public well? Where is the forum for citizens with different views and perspectives to come together to share and discuss ideas instead of simply parroting group think and cliches? We seem to sequester ourselves away from others unlike ourselves both intentionally and not. People live in walled communities, belong to private clubs, and watch news networks that support views instead of challenging them. Computers too have allowed people to further alienate for we tend to read and visit sites that agree with our present perspective. I have always remembered an old Apple commercial where the theater audience is dressed exactly alike with the same sunglasses staring at the screen as one. An Olympian type female comes running into the theater and throws a sledgehammer shattering the screen to release the audience.

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, but I don't, so instead I will start early to Glenns Ferry 27.2 miles away.