i feel so smart

When I get those little inside political and cultural jokes often found in TV and movies. It doesn't actually prove smarts but I can have the personal satisfaction.

The latest joke came while i was going through the Friends series. In one of the later episodes Joey falls for Rachel and tells Ross about his feelings. He feels so terrible that he wants to run away to live in another country, which is later revealed to be Vermont. This is funny on its own because, duh, everyone knows that Vermont is in the same country.

The second, more politically tasty, layer was revealed in an article I was reading while cycling to nowhere in the Y in my new socially conscious magazine GOOD. Vermont wants to be its own country! There is a small but growing movement to separate themselves from the US and self-govern as a republic. Along with this are equally unlikely separtist groups for an independent California, Washington/Oregon, Texas and the Dixie states. I thought Canada one with all of the internal division, although I do believe that Canada would take a greater blow losing a province than the US would losing a state (except maybe California; Hollywood lives there!).

While the article points out that there is no non-violent option for departure allowed for in the constitution the protesters right now are looking for a way to make the change a bit more Martin Luther King and less Malcolm X. Vermont doesn't seem to have the clout to make many threats or have much to take away (in economic terms) but this does point to internal instability. Did you know that Vermont banned billboards along its highways? When was the last time a Canadian region gave the one finger'd salute to big business to protect our quality of life?

There you have it: the second level of funny is jabbing at the Vermont-ites (ians?) for fancying themselves just a bit above the American way. Maybe Friends will not only inspire great hair but also turn out to be prophetic.