Thang Nguyen 555

The Economist Christmas Special was about America, a Ponzi scheme that works.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15108634&source=hptextfeature

It projects 1 Billion Americans by 2100.

With its many niches, America seems to offer a bit of everything, for everybody: hunting, boozing, gambling, church-going and freedom to protest.

I remember my first Christmas, living humbly in a cold basement. But I created my version of America by inviting Vietnamese Students at Penn State to come over for a party, albeit makeshift. We dimmed out the lights and had a disco party (mid-70’s).

My America.

No eggnog, fruit cake or tinsel. Just foreign students away from home, sharing a common bond of humanity and most pressingly, in need of  heat (it was cold in Winter 76).

People who wouldn’t otherwise have been friends: a hippie guy with hair down to his knees, a short guy majoring in Agronomy and a French-major gal with a condescending air about…