Houston: Loyalty vs. Objectivity

So my good buddy Jon Hampton sent me this link to Bill Simmons's post-NBA All-star game (which he deems the Black Super Bowl) article, which was actually quite good. Nice writing, great stories like watching MJ play cards and getting real worked up until his wife gets there and he "looks like somebody who took a no-hitter into the ninth, then gave up a triple off the left-field wall."

But Jon sent it to me because of how much it ripped on Houston:

"Maybe Houston doesn't suck any more or less than 20 other major cities, and maybe the people are friendly and likable, but the fact remains, you would never come here for any reason, other than these three:

(1) For work.
(2) To gain weight.
(3) To get shot."

This article has churned up the age-old debate I have with myself. I'm torn between two principles that are extremely important to me: loyalty, and objectivity. This is an impossibly easy choice for many people. Many red-staters lack objectivity - or don't seem concerned about it - and refuse to open their minds to look at the choices they make, their lifestyles, their political decisions, etc, and live in ignorance. Many yankees, on the other hand, seem insincere to us southerners b/c they're so damn objective, cold and calculating that they seem to lack heart. Which they often do.

But I've had the fortune/misfortune to grow up with an open mind but was raised to be faithful to what I know and believe. And this makes opinions about Houston difficult for me to make. It's my home, but I know it's not a beautiful city with a historic past and trendy future. It's a fat armchair quarterback sprawled over the sofa of Southeast Texas, spilling into the rest of the state. But I have roots there and I love it.

It will be hard for me not to want to raise children in Houston if I am blessed with that opportunity. But at the same time, would I rather they were raised in another city and call that home? Maybe yes. Thus the decision will have to be made: loyalty or objectivity. And I'm not sure I'll know which one to make. In the end, though, it's not my choice alone - Becka will have some say in it. And, after all, we probably won't even have any choice at all: we'll simply go where the jobs take us...

thoughts on loyalty vs. objectivity? send me a comment...