Americans

I was at Babies r us the other day and I was buying one of these breathable bumpers so your BABY DON'T DIE OF SIDS, GODDAMN! The lady who checked me out was a simple woman, not a member of the intelligentsia by any means, but just your average Josephine. SHe put my crib bumper into a huge bag. I said, "I don't need a bag." So she took the crib bumper right back out of the bag and handed it to me. THen she took the huge bag off of the bag holder thingy and THREW IT IN THE GARBAGE. I can't get this out of my head. God forbid someone else might get a gigantic bag that had touched my already bagged, sanitized crib bumper. I think the reason I can't get this out of my head is that this is a simple, average woman. To me, she represented the mentality of the majority of Americans.
This happens at work, too, with the bags. We have these really sturdy, nice plastic bags that we give to people (I only to people who ask for them). But these bags are expensive and can easily be reused many, many times. Sometimes, people bring these bags back with their books in them. When they do this, I fold the bags and put them back to be used again. Some of my co-workers think this is gross because the bags have already been used and are not in slick, pristine format when they are handed out. When did people start thinking this way?
I am thinking of the average person when I was a kid. This person saved aluminum foil for reuse, for crying out loud. How did we lose this thriftiness? When did we all get used to hand sanitizered, plastic surroundings that are 100% NEW and anti-bacterial?
Another change in American mentality that I have noticed was brought to my attention by a lyric in the Leonard Cohen song, "Suzanne." It says, "...and she brings you tea and oranges that come all the way from China." Back in the day, something from China was exotic. Perfume from France was a big deal. Now you can buy eggrolls made in Thailand at Super Target. Things that were created in China are considered to be shit. Our blood is turning into oil. We are just eating and eating and eating petroleum without regard. It seems like we are all just drowning in privelege. It makes me feel like my head is going to pop off. It seems like everything has lost its value.
On another frustrating American subject, medicine. I won't go too deeply into it, but today, a girl who has almost the same due date as me was telling me that she is going to be induced because her amniotic fluid levels are high and this may cause the umbilical cord to wash out. She has had five ultrasounds. What the fuck does this even mean? This sounds like the biggest pile of bullshit I have ever heard. Umbilical cord wash out? Come on! Why doesn't she want to know what that means? When did we stop asking questions about our bodies? Maybe we never started.