Belle de vous rencontrer, Monsieur de Tocqueville

  Success! A nice comfy seat in one of Austin's many coffee shops/bars/trendy spots to sit and be seen. Public, one of the best places to observe and cultivate an understanding of ones culture; can also be quite the arduous entity to endure. Luckily, I am nestled in a lovely corner, quietly observing others on what should probably be one of the more important holidays celebrated in our culture. However, as my eyes glance about the room,  I can't hep but notice the large amounts of alcohol being consumed. No, I am not here to judge, nor am I here to preach about drinking. I too, enjoy a refreshing pint of beer or a dry red wine, but should we be doing other activities?    I decided to celebrate in another way. I was curious as to how other's on this world of ours view America's Independence and the results of thus. I never think about other countries and the struggles they endured, besides Bastille day in France, which is where I decided to start. Alexis de Tocqueville, a French Aristocrat, of the 1800's, wrote a book. This book is called Democracy In America. Many of the observations made by Tocqueville are still relevant today. I have never heard of this man or his work before today, but I want to learn more. His travel through America revealed a neutral description of what the values accepted in American culture and politics. Above all Independence and Equality. My question is, despite the fact that we are told this is what we value; what examples do we see of this? It is my belief that these ideals are supposed to be held true for all individuals living in America. Work hard, believe in your self worth and you can accomplish anything. That is a lovely sentiment. But does it still hold true? Tocqueville saw  both the strengths and weakness in American Democracy, including the value of individualism. The positive outcomes include, fighting tyranny based on the belief that the individual had control over his or her destiny (mostly his). The negative outcomes include, isolation and creating ones own society based on those closest to you. Creating segregation and classes. Currently, we seem to be in limbo. The once infamous, American Dream, is eluding more and more of us. 

   This is why I choose to look at the stars, sometimes all the drama that is the Age of Humans is over whelming. It's nice to be reminded that there is so much more out there than just silly humans and our silly problems.