"I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it." - Edith Sitwell

Every now and again a blogger has to have a rant post, right? Well, here I go:

Yes, I do tend to have a temper sometimes, and yes, sometimes I do get worked up over little things, but as I tried to enjoy the mediocre Super Bowl half-time show last night, I really got riled up when “MIA” (or whatever her name is) felt the need to thoroughly “express herself” in front of the audience. “What the…???” I said to myself. “Really?”

This leads me to another story: When I went on a Mediterranean cruise last fall, I got off the ship in Civitvecchia, Italy. My friend and I were waiting for our guide when another guide asked if he could help us with anything. I turned to him and said “No, thank you. We’re waiting for our guide.” I saw the man look a bit surprised when he heard my voice.

After narrowing his eyebrows in confusion, the man asked me “Where are you from?”

“From America,” I replied.

“Interesting,” the man said. “You don’t look like an American.”

A bit confused, I asked the man what he meant, and he proceeded to tell me in so many words (and more politely, of course) that I didn’t look fat, ugly, or stupid. He said most Americans he encounters are overweight, rude, and lazy.

Fast forward a few months to the Super Bowl... I couldn’t help but think of that Italian guide when Miss. MIA decided to represent America and herself on national television the only way she knew how – with her middle finger and her crotch. Wow… Is this what our country is coming to?

Now don’t get me wrong. I AM proud to be an American, and I told that little Italian guy that I’m sorry for the rude Americans he had encountered, but reassured him we are not all like that, that there are some Americans out there who know how to act properly and who work hard everyday. And I’m not saying the opinionated entertainer at the Super Bowl didn’t work hard to get her opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl. I know I would be psyched if I got to clog as part of the half-time show. But if I ever made it there, you could bet your last copper penny I would find a more suitable way to represent myself, my family, my friends, my colleagues, and my country in a better way. It’s no wonder Europeans have bad opinions of us when we have people like her representing our country.

I’m sure there were lots of people, including myself, who had never heard of that singer before in their lives. And maybe she was just trying to make a statement. Well, she made one alright, and now I (and probably many other people) will now remember her as that dumb girl from the Super Bowl half-time show who flipped off the audience. Way to go, girl, for making your obscene mark on history and giving our nation and our nation’s youth one more reason to believe that flipping the birdie is a cool and appropriate thing to do. God Bless America… (No God… Really… Please?)