Do I Really Need to Comment?

road trip

Having just come back from ten days in France where I watched the inauguration of our 44th president from the perspective of French television, it made me think about similarities and differences in people/cultures, and it made me think about the power and cultural focus of media in disseminating information.

The following posts really have nothing to do with that observation other than I read them in the newspaper.

item: It seems that a would-be robber in Ohio may have given away his intentions when he stood in line at the bank wearing a ski mask. I love the clerk's comment when he finally stepped up to the window, "Sir,you will need to remove your remove your mask before I can help you." (or something to that effect). That was quick thinking on the teller's part. I bet her mother raised her that it's not polite to engage in social discourse when your face is obscured by a ski mask.

item: A newly enacted law in Nigeria requires motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. Sounds simple enough. The law, however, might not have defined what type of helmet and the police have been very narrow-minded in their enforcement of the regulation, giving tickets to riders who have gotten quite creative in their headgear. Apparently, dried calabash shells, paint pots, and pieces of pans and tires tied with string are not considered acceptable protection. They must adhere to the same legal principle we do that ignorance is not a legal defense.

item: Our newspaper published an article entitled "Ten Potential Sitters in Ten Minutes." It featured a Sitter Socials event where too-busy-parents-to-actually-be-parents could choose their kids' caregivers in a matter of ten minutes or less. Yes, in our busy, busy, busy world, the tiresome, bothersome, time-consuming, even burdensome task of finding a child sitter has been telescoped down to something called speed baby-sitting (you know, kind of like speed-dating). In a manner of minutes, a couple can peruse notebooks chock full of pertinent information about the person who is going to relieve them of their parental duty and raise their children. Then, they set up on-the-spot interviews with potential caregivers -- all in one convenient place at one convenient time --- yep 10 interviews in 10 minutes kind of thing. To quote one of the parents, "Definitely, it's a lot more convenient than interviewing 10 girls individually.....It saves time and money." Wonder how the kids feel about it.

wrap-up: I could give further social, cultural and political commentary on the above items, but I believe that is what television news anchors do after they have finished reading the news, so I won't step on their toes. Besides, my brain hasn't returned completely to this side of the planet and I might give a mixed-up French-American perspective.

Speaking of the presidential inauguration, tune in tomorrow for my American observation of the French take on the festivities.