Every morning at breakfast, the TV blared the most crass leftist propaganda, and most of the people present sat like drug-dazed automatons receiving their morning fix.
It was frightening.
The TV propaganda was all dire, pessimistic, terrifying. The TV "reporters" seemed to believe the depressing, pessimistic propaganda they were parroting.
The people I talked with have serious anxiety. I can understand why. They constantly receive a barrage of frightening propaganda. Many believe it all. Many are on anti-anxiety medication.
The day I left, a lovely, kind woman asked if I were anxious about the flight home. I explained that I wasn't looking forward to cramped air plane accommodations, difficult schedules, crowded terminals, etc. She asked if I would like a few Xanex to relieve my anxiety.
"Oh no," I replied, "I'm not particularly anxious--just slightly dreading a tiring flight."
Actually, I was horrified at the thought of her casually offering a highly addictive drug--or any drug--to remedy perceived anxiety, which was in fact essentially non-existent.
In the California air port, I chatted casually with a fellow traveler, a school teacher, who told my how frustrating his job is, trying to educate children who have no interest in learning, who refuse to learn, and whose parents have no interest in making them learn. "I just gave up trying to help them," he said.
I could hardly wait to get out of there and into fly-over country.
I refused to learn what they wanted to teach me, but stayed up ‘til all hours studying what I liked.