I am a "average" middle class American, but that doesn't define who I am or how I should act. I have constantly evolving ideals which from time to time might very well contradict the things I do on a daily basis. Really there is no excuse for this, but I am human, and in my defense one's ideals and one's reality can very often be quite different. I lead a normal life, but I like to step back and observe what goes on in the immediate world around me, and with people in general. I have many opinions about what I see, and I think that most Americans, even those considered lower class, don't have a very good appreciation for life. Too many people work too hard trying to achieve artificial goals that they and society set which once attained don't lead to the satisfaction they were looking for. I think that this in turn leads to a hopelessness about life, which really can be most easily appreciated for its simplicity, once the burdens of society have been stripped away.

I also think that:

• Materialism and consumerism, and the growing excessiveness of the modern American lifestyle are all significant contributors to unhappiness and hopelessness, and that they create an inability to be satisfied no matter how much is attained. All these things give people false hope, and they instill artificial ideals in people about what it takes to be happy. (Note: I own a cell phone and drive a decent car. This could be considered contradictory.)

• The trend of Westernization is bad. Americans have problems with diet, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, (the list could go on) and overall health, which are all "fixed" with unnecessary drugs which probably are prescribed to make a few pockets fatter. Are we really the ones to be emulated? Also when it comes to American attitude - we're ignorant, closeminded, unaccepting, and unhappy - we have a lot to learn.

• Too many Americans are close minded and take for granted that they live in a civilized and democratic country with freedoms that aren't free. Too many people think the American way of life is the right way of life.

• Most of us should take some time every so often to reexamine ourselves, our lives, and our place in the world. America is not the only country that matters; because we are powerful does not mean we can do what we want on a global scale without repercussion. Somehow we (ordinary citizens) need to adopt a more positive world view. America is a wonderful country but no one likes a bully.

• Too many people believe what they are taught and what is instilled in them from childhood, without question. I don't mean believing or disbelieving Hollywood celebrity gossip. I mean believing in a God or not believing in a God; or believing in the way of life that they are leading.

• Americans are overworked, but not overpaid. Excess of money has created a generation of people living beyond their means, ironically leading to a more dissatisfied society.

I hope that:

• People can learn to get past what society teaches them about life and find it for themselves, allowing them to take their lives back and enable them to stand up to the pressures of society and learn that life itself can be rewarding.

• People can see that reading a good book can be as rewarding as a trip to the mall.