I’m a bit of a news junkie. I watch the pundits, C-Span, read the papers, I have Google alerts set for multiple topics.

I’m hooked.

The most overwhelmingly (over)used phrase during The Great Recession has been, without doubt, the “Main Street v. Wall Street” one. A complete over-simplification, for sure, but it’s one that sounds good in soundbites, and is so very easily understandable. Sure, it furthers the tendency to treat politics like it’s a sports game, where all you have to do is choose a side and argue it, but damn! — ain’t it catchy?

While I can’t credit the fact that I’ve been bombarded with this phrase for the last 3-years as the main spark for my trip to discover my country for myself, I do acknowledge it as the most annoying one, and the one that allowed me to put somewhat of a focus on a trip that could have (and may still) become an aimless wander.