Ok, new tradition: Song Sundays. Let the deconstruction begin! In the song "We Are Young," it goes: "My lover she is waiting for me just across the bar. My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking about a scar. I know I gave it to you months ago. I know you're trying to forget. But between the drinks and subtle things, the holes in my apologies, I know you're trying to forget." What is the "it?" What is she trying to forget? I have two theories: 1) the little fellow got drunk or high and hit her. It's the obvious answer. Domestic violence is the mostly likely means of producing a visible scar. What do you tell a Backdoor Betty with two black eyes? 2) It's an abortion scar. Admittedly, she'd have to be pretty trashy to have a visible abortion scar at a bar, but what kind of girl dates a guy in a band anyway? I mean sure, there are guys with real jobs who don't make you pay for dinner, but he could be a rock star one day, and he'll take me with him. 

Liberty or Security?

Benjamin Franklin said that anyone who chose liberty over security deserved neither. However, in a world with ever growing dangers, foreign and domestic, we have developed technology and protocol which can observes us everywhere we go, listen to our conversations, and even digitally monitor our business transactions. In as little as thirty years, we have transitioned to a society where most of our day is recorded. We work in buildings with security cameras. We drive on roads with traffic cameras. We buy things with magnetic strips that record our time, place, and monetary accounts. Most of our lives are now recorded in a way that may have been considered invasive just a short time ago. We do this because there are foreign governments trying to gain leverage through military attacks; there are domestic and foreign terrorists hoping to disrupt our way of life. However, at what point does our abdication of our privacy and liberty outweigh the desire to live safely? When do we transition from reckless independence to coddled infantilization? This is one of the foundational and ubiquitous questions for the citizenry in a democracy and a question we are remiss to ask. I leave the debate to you. Also, what are the relevant issues related to this in our country today? For example, is mandatory health insurance a violation of our privacy? Are national data bases of medical data intrusive? Where do we draw the line?