You know we have to look at and talk about this video.  From what I understand, throwing a shoe is the ultimate sign of disrespect in Iraq, but it is still somewhat funny to me.  I’m trying to think what action, if any exists, that would be equal to this for Americans.  My first thought is to say giving someone the finger or saying, “Yo Momma” would be similar but those can be waived off depending on the context.

When I think about it I have to wonder if Iraq is just a more respectful country than ours. See, to consider something so disrespectful wouldn’t there have to be a baseline of respect to begin with? We may not have that baseline of respect to even consider something this disrespectful. You can get flipped off a million times a day, but what is there in our country that is just the ultimate display of disrespect?

I can’t think of anything.

• The United States is 11th or 12th on the list of countries with the largest oil reserves.  The top 5, from lowest to highest, are United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia – some lists have Canada in the top five.  For comparisons sake, the United States has around 21 billion barrels while Saudi Arabia has 265 billion barrels.
• The United States uses more oil than any other country.  In fact, the Unites States uses more than twice the oil, per day, than the next higher consumer of oil.
• The United States is the fattest nation in the world.  Walking and/or riding a bicycle to commute would help, but this isn’t always feasible when many people cannot afford to live anywhere near where they work.  With the current housing situation, this is getting worst.  It seems like we are stuck in a vicious cycle.
• Earlier this year we reached the 4,000 milestone.  In that 4th thousand, 53.6% were from IEDs, and 30% were from 18-21 years old.  Approximately 4, 168 men and women have been killed in Iraq.  Again, four thousand, one hundred and sixty eight men and women have lost their lives in Iraq.