A good day

Measurable success is always appreciated. Another teacher gave me these 5 students with the caveat that they wouldn't talk much. By the end of this week, they were talking a lot. One of the students from Oman failed his test last week, so when I asked him about it, he described enough to tell me he had a problem with test-taking skills. I gave him a little advice about how to take our computer-delivered tests, and he was the first one finished AND he passed. Hooray! Even better, one student from Poland shook my hand after class and said he appreciated how I taught the class.
I try not to let my anger and frustration at the politics of our country spill over into my work, but sometimes I can't help it. I mean, I'm mad all the time that we seem so willing to ignore our Constitution and our founding fathers as we hurtle toward a theocracy, that we ignore good, common sense and let our president lie us into war, let him tell us a massive national debt is a GOOD thing, that spying on Americans is necessary, that torture is ok. Are we that stupid?
That anger colors so much - I resent the Jesus freak woman across the hall, even though I know she lost a daughter a few years ago and her faith helps her cope. I avoid the "Bush right or wrong" Republicans - I get pissed off just seeing them.
I don't think Bush is destroying America. I think he's already accomplished the task. We are no longer the good guys. Pride and greed, considered sins when I was growing up, are suddenly virtues. Lying is telling the truth, and telling the truth is lying. If I were a religious fanatic, I think I could make a pretty good case for Bush being the antiChrist.
Well, I just need to hang on till he's out. I hope against hope that Americans will recognize we need to throw the bums out in the next two elections.
I've been tired a lot lately. Maybe it's the no-meat thing. I've only been a vegetarian for a couple of months, and just don't have any energy. My wife's trying to help me with it.
So how do we get America back?