Colonize Mars, damnit!

Hanging out at Propoganda the other night, I met a Czech artist named Ilka. My toady-ish method of actually entering into a conversation was to ask to see his portfolio. He had shown it to most of the patrons at the bar, all of whom had feigned a passing interest in his art. Now I'm not sure if this is a good habit or not, but when I first meet someone, I can be a charming motherfucker. It's seems like a biological reaction of sorts, and usually fades pretty quickly - as many of you know - but it's there, and useful. So I asked to see his portfolio, and actually took a decent look at some of the Japanese-ish ink drawings contained therein.

Conversation eventually turned to America, the war, all of that stuff. When I'm actually in the country, I'm horrified at what we're doing in the world. But whenever I meet a foreigner who begins to criticize America, a sort of misguided patriotism arises. (Footnote: I once drove a British and an Australian girl to Mount Rushmore. The Aussie commented "It's not that big." Same feeling.)
I try to stifle it and look with some sort of reality on the situation.

Ilka had his own view on America, and what it should do. Specifically, if America was to lead the world, it must have a vision, a dream. And that vision should be to colonize Mars. I attempted to impress upon him the difficulties with this plan - the speed of light is going to kick your ass everyday, I said. He was having none of it. Colonize Mars. Yeah.

On a wooden post beside the bar, was a postcard, with a picture of Prague, four flags in each corner, one American, one British, one German, and one French. A headline read "welcome our liberators". At that moment, I began to understand a bit better what was going on. The Czechs have historically been kind of a fucked over people. The Nazis set up shop in Prague, and the Russians didn't really help much after that. So when the Soviet Union collapsed under what in all likelihood was it's own idiocy, they bought into the myth that in fact, America and others had liberated them from the yoke of communism.

But heroes often fail, as the song goes. And now the conquering heroes are beginning to look like the bungling idiots that we always were. And worse. I attempted to impress this on Ilka, but he was having none of it.

Colonize Mars.

Also, I miss you all, and California. The things they do to Mexican food here are atrocious.