The Americans reviews

I’m going to try and write a response to each episode of FX’s upcoming show “The Americans” starring Keri Russell.  I want to challenge myself to put my dime-store analysis of the episodes to work.  I have begun to really enjoy quite a bit of what FX puts on, including “It’s Always Sunny,” “Archer,” “Sons of Anarchy,” and “Justified.” The former two are the comedies, but Sons of Anarchy and Justified are the two that are Tuesday Night dramatic showcases.  They are nuanced, layered, and long-form in their storytelling.  I am hoping that “The Americans” is similar to that.

Our Abortion Debate - Nothing to Hang Your Hat On. Or coat.

This past Tuesday was the 40^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on the case of Roe vs. Wade, legalizing abortion in the United States.  We’ve spent countless hours since then ripping ourselves apart at the straw man argument of all or none: should there be free, legal, and available abortions at all times, or should we outlaw them in the name of the sanctity of life?  These two distinctly opposite arguments have produced countless spider-webbing discussions that have produced their own discussions as well: When does life begin? Does an embryo, and the stem cells contained therein count as a person? Do all babies, in fact, wanna get borned? Here’s what we aren’t doing: working to eliminate the need for abortions.

Off-Target Gun Debate

We’re having the wrong debate about guns right now.  Despite pleas from both sides to avoid politicization of the horrible events in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and then accusations lobbed at one another about the other side’s politicization of the event, we are having the wrong debate.  Schools are not the real world and either stance, more gun control or less gun control in society, isn’t applicable to the circumstances of this incident.