my observations on everything right and wrong with the world - starting with myself.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
so I'm officially an American.
I think the three things that make you American are the following:
-paying income taxes (been paying them since 8th grade)
-being blind to world events and most social problems, in general (I live in Southern California, a vacuous cesspool of selective ignorance)
-compulsory jury duty
now the third item, I've always managed to get out of for some reason or another...and technically, coming up with an excuse to avoid jury duty is a very American thing to do, but let's not get into technicalities.
however, for the past two days, I've been sitting in a courtroom in Orange County as a member of a jury. I know, I know...in a previous post, I had mentioned that jurors are the twelve most ignorant people in a courtroom.
well, let me retract that statement. jurors are the twelve most ignorant people in a courtroom...according to the defending and prosecuting lawyers in the case at hand.
so yeah, I guess you're made doubly ignorant.
right now, I can't talk about the case. but trust me, if I owned this shirt, I'd wear it to court every day.
...and I thought my experience in the army allowed me to fully be immersed in egalitarian society.
nope. there's nothing that makes you realize how you fare against other normal everyday people like the jury selection and questioning process.
anyway, I've got another week of jury duty. at least I'm not sequestered and at least I don't count Pauly Shore as a fellow juror...
I think the three things that make you American are the following:
-paying income taxes (been paying them since 8th grade)
-being blind to world events and most social problems, in general (I live in Southern California, a vacuous cesspool of selective ignorance)
-compulsory jury duty
now the third item, I've always managed to get out of for some reason or another...and technically, coming up with an excuse to avoid jury duty is a very American thing to do, but let's not get into technicalities.
however, for the past two days, I've been sitting in a courtroom in Orange County as a member of a jury. I know, I know...in a previous post, I had mentioned that jurors are the twelve most ignorant people in a courtroom.
well, let me retract that statement. jurors are the twelve most ignorant people in a courtroom...according to the defending and prosecuting lawyers in the case at hand.
so yeah, I guess you're made doubly ignorant.
right now, I can't talk about the case. but trust me, if I owned this shirt, I'd wear it to court every day.
...and I thought my experience in the army allowed me to fully be immersed in egalitarian society.
nope. there's nothing that makes you realize how you fare against other normal everyday people like the jury selection and questioning process.
anyway, I've got another week of jury duty. at least I'm not sequestered and at least I don't count Pauly Shore as a fellow juror...
