Darien seems to be obsessed with their image. Every which way you see people wearing the latest Versace jeans (I’m not a fashion kind of guy so that could potentially not be a thing), carrying their pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (that is a thing though, it’s kind of a big deal), and just generally stressing about looks. If that is the case, then why is one of the most frequently visited shopping centers in town called Goodwives Shopping Center?  How can Darien of all places allow such a name to be accepted into our society? The misogyny presented by such a title is unacceptable, especially in a town where image is everything. Can you imagine someone walking into town from, I don’t know, let’s say Iowa or something, and they see that this town is really nice. Then they see the Goodwives Shopping Center and immediately realize that this is one of THOSE towns. They then go back to their hometown and share stories of this horribly sexist town where gender profiling is alive and well. What does this do to the image of Darien? It certainly doesn’t do anything good, I can tell you that for sure. One can argue that the history aspect of the name, but the history itself is pretty bad. A woman (ironic) in Wilton coined the name to go with the river right behind the center in 1966. The river itself was named “From the Indians because the wives of the early settlers were kind in many ways to the Indians during those difficult times.” I pulled that quote off a newspaper article from December 7, 1966, and let me just say, the inclusion of the term “Indians” just drives the point even further home. If that doesn’t scream “outdated” to you, then I don’t know what will. This “tribute to the women of the area” seems to be more like a command than a commendation, saying that you must be a good wife in order to properly fit into society. The image created by that notion is awful for the town, and needs to get fixed.

What’s going on in Egypt? I’ve been asked this quite a few times by teachers, fellow students, and even parents. I feel as though the revolution that has been taking place for the past couple years in that country has not been given enough attention in out classes, on the news, or just in daily life. What began as protests to make the Egyptian President, Mubarak, to step down from his seat of power has exploded into enormous riots on the streets of Cairo and other large cities, killings of presidential supporters, and general chaos in government.

What appears to be the biggest challenge facing Egypt at the moment is the fact that the Presidents that step up to power always seem to have the wrong idea in mind when it comes to aiding the country. Morsi, the President elected into power after Mubarak stepped down, knew that his country was in danger of falling apart, but his actions to prevent such a tragedy were misguided and ultimately resulted in even more controversy. He was brought down by the government, and a new leader, Adly Monsour, took reign over a collapsing country. With people protesting over the removal  of Morsi from presidency, Monsour had no real power in his position, and declared a state of emergency. These events were all brought upon the country because people believed they knew what would help the country, but as it turns out, it only made things worse. This is the primary challenge in Egypt.

The latest new regarding the U.S. involvement in Egypt was that President Obama condemned the actions that the Egyptian government has been allowing to happen, yet he decided not to cancel the $1.3 billion annual provision for military aid. Seeing as we have just recently gotten ourselves into this ISIS debacle in Syria and Iraq, it seems wrong to prolong our involvement in just about anything. What this means is that Obama should pull our country out of Egypt. They have been making decisions that have been generally detrimental to the state of their country since the revolution began, and yet we still decide to help them out. This should no longer continue, as it is clear that there will be no differences in the actions of Egypt in the  near future, and our involvement elsewhere is more important.

The natural reaction of the media in the U.S. is almost always to show just how victimized the people of a country in turmoil are. In the case of Egypt, it is no different. Whenever a bit on Egypt is shown in the news, it almost always shows protesters who are justified in their actions because the big bad government wronged them. I believe the situation described in the media is true, but they make it seem so much more dramatic than it actually is. The media makes the people seem horribly, irrevocably victimized by the government, yet in reality, the severity is much less than the media makes it seem.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Where am I from?

So many possible answers.

Well, two really.

Am I from London,

Home of the fish and chips

Home of the tea and crumpets,

Or am I from Darien,

The home of nothing special, 

but the people there will say there's plenty?

Is my calling more towards soccer (sorry, football)

Or more towards lacrosse?

Would I rather go on to be a professor,

Or study history or something classical,

Or would I rather go on to be a stock broker,

Taking part in the rat race that with million others

Every single day?

Am I from the Eye, from Ben, or from the river

(We all know the one)

Or from the Sport Shop, the Social, the Pond?

Was I raised to believe that all who try

Deserve a chance

Or was I raised to believe that those who are less fortunate

Deserve nothing?

Would I rather be known as the worldly fellow,

Who can understand the views of the masses,

Or would I rather be the boy in the bubble,

As outsiders call those in this town?

Is it possible to be from both?

Is it possible to be both aware

and beautifully, hopelessly oblivious

to all things around me?

I guess being both couldn't be bad,

A dual citizenship is pretty neat, I guess,

Even though I most certainly

Do not have an accent

(Wouldn't that be cool though?).

So if you ask me where I'm from,

Please be aware that for me,

That is a difficult question to answer.