ChiKat

I picked up a second client for my freelance writing, so that is where I've been this past month. Sorry for the lack of posts.

I just found out an old friend of mine is attempting to hike the entire 1,000+ mile Appalachian Trail, which I think is pretty amazing. You can track his progress on his website.

In other news, this week's Newsweek has an interesting article about Michelle Obama. I really respect Michelle and her commitment to her family. She sounds like a pretty amazing woman. The article says that she wrote her thesis from Princeton on the racial tension on campus. According to Newsweek, Michelle said:

"Regardless of the circumstances under which I interact with Whites at Princeton," she wrote, "it often seems as if, to them, I will always be Black first and a student second." (Today, Michelle says, not quite convincingly, that she can't remember what was in her thesis.)

What I find most interesting is her unwillingness to discuss the racial tension. I went to U of I in Urbana-Champaign. There were tons of students from all different ethnic backgrounds, but when I look back on my time at U of I, I was friends with whites, Asians and Indians. There was a huge divide between the black students and everyone else. I have no idea how to bridge that divide, but I can't image not talking about it is going to help.

At the same time, when Michelle said that she has never felt happier about America as she does right now, Bill O'Reilly jumps all over her for being so negative, so pessimistic. To the conservatives, suggesting that America isn't perfect makes you a terrorist. So I can understand why Michelle wants to keep the focus on political issues and leave the hyper-sensitive issue of race off the table for now.

I just hope, if Obama really does win the whole kit and caboodle, that we as a country are strong enough to talk about race and make real changes.