Monday, June 02, 2008

The real reason for line standing

Over the weekend I had to buy some new clothes. I hate shopping so when I have to buy clothes that means that my old ones are nearly falling apart. So I hit my favorite spots; unfortunately they are everyone's favorite spots so the lines were long.

While standing in line, I struck up a conversation with a very attractive young lady from Zimbabwe. At first we were talking about goofy stuff like golf gifts lining the queue. But then it came up that she was here for a semester to begin her graduate study in law, piquing my curiosity. What does a law student from Zimbabwe think about our culture and our legal system?!? As we continued through the queue, she explained how she was amazed about how well the law works here in the U.S. and observed that even though the police are not ubiquitous, and apparently way under armed (only service revolvers in most cases, no AK-47's) she felt safe. I hypothesized that it was because we have a functioning independent court here in the U.S., her reaction was one of surprise, like the concept had not ever been mentioned before.

About that time, the checker was calling for the next person in line (her) and then it was my turn. A tremendously interesting conversation was ended much to soon. The more I travel, the more I talk to people from other cultures, the more I appreciate our form of Government. Every encounter leaves me amazed by the perfect storm that occurred in the years around 1776 that brought together a group of inspired Geniuses to create these United States.