An Earth Still Flat - (from U.S. and Them)

The earth doesn't have to be destroyed...

– An Earth Still Flat

 The American way was in dire straights as far as back as I could remember and everything I remember was born, or at least bred in our pumpkin-colored cape in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

 ... Soldiers in Vietnam died on TV every night around dinner time—it was normal. I expected to see Vietnam the same way, every day right up to the very end: an adult show I had to sit through until my father left the room.

   ... Most people trace everything back to their parents but I neither blame nor credit my parents for our lousy place in history. Truth is, whether you’re in the beginning, middle or the end of time, imagining a future is hardest on the parents.

     ... Nikita Khrushchev was a mouthful. When I said his name it was like spitting. When I said his name fast I was speaking Communist. But, all you ever need to know about Khrushchev was that he was the madman who pounded the podium at the United Nations and promised to bury us.           
    

---