Scary Thinking 4: A New Low

It saddens me to think about the diminishing intelligence level of the American populace, the "dumbing down of America" as some call it. Everyone who ever mentions this "phenomenon" blames some organization or individual, often the government or a politician. This is completely understandable as said by our oh-so-beloved president, "The literacy level of our children are appalling," but there has to be something more at work here, an evil force more devious and with more brainwashing, mind-numbing power than even the current governing body: Hollywood. There, I said it, but let's just get this out in the open, cleared up, and leave nothing to wonder. Hollywood is destroying the logic and reason of this country.
Some might ask why I believe this--what evidence exists to support this preposterous claim? Here comes the easy part, although it is the hardest to stomach, taken from a BBC headline yesterday: "Scary Movie 4 tops US box office." The frightful reader who, although nauseated by the title, continues to combat his way through the article, desperately hoping it is some silly Brit's idea of a sick joke, would discover that not only did the movie earn more money for its creators than any other movie in the past four days, but it actually broke the previous record for ticket sales during Easter weekend by more than 33%. This preemptively counters all those who might say, "There aren't any good movies out; that's why Scary Movie 4 was at the top." If people simply went to see the movie for lack of a better alternative, it should not be breaking records!
No, sadly it seems that in this Bush-regime-dominated, no-child-left-behind society, movies like Scary Movie 4, with more toilet humor than even the septic system of Crawford, TX, could possibly handle, are exactly what the blissfully ignorant public desires--nay, craves. It keeps people happy and mindless--mindlessly happy--because it requires no thought, no effort. Sure Social Security might be on the brink of annihilation while billions of tax dollars are funneled into that black hole named "Operation Iraqi Freedom," but if I can just sit here and spend my $8.50 to see people get kicked in the junk a hundred times, I don't have to think about stuff like that and continue complaining about taxes and the price of gas.

What do you think about?

Nearly every runner has heard this question at some point; I've heard it a few times, especially when talking to someone about running a marathon. I've come to expect the question when discussing running with a non-runner--it only makes sense to wonder what the brainis doing for all those hours. My typical, oh-so-very-clever answer was always, "Nothing. And everything." In a way, this is true, but I never really thought about it until a very recent run (about an hour ago, actually). The question entered my mind about one mile into the run, so I had seven more to ponder the answer and monitor my mind's behavior. Here is what I thought up (as close to my thought process as I can get and still be coherent while eliminating unrelated thoughts):
What do I think of
Nothing. Consciously, I think about nothing except the movement of my feet. During the first part of the run, I think about how I feel, noticing any tightness in my legs or any other soreness. I might also notice the weather and road conditions, but only very briefly. As the run progresses, I continue to monitor my body, but eventually it fades from the conscious to the unconscious, which I trust to let me know if anything goes wrong. Soon, everything is sent to the realm of the unconscious, and I am vaguely aware of the wind in my face and my feet hitting the ground. This is when I think of nothing. Then...
Everything. Without warning, a random thought pops into my head--it could be something that's been bothering me, some random memory, or just an idea to toy with. Sometimes my brain decides to start doing math problems, from the simple--what is 5x5?--to the slightly complex--what pace do I need to run X miles to finish in Y hours and Z minutes?--to the even more complex--how much work am I doing? These thoughts all come without conscious bidding, and sometimes I'm only partly aware that they're even there for quite some time.

I think I might change my answer to, "Nothing. And anything," to make it more truthful because I can't really think of everything.