I think all you need is a small taste of success, and you will find it suits you.

In college, I took a Russian Literature class that I absolutely fell in love with.  I was and still am completely taken by the novels and poems written in early 19th century Russia.

It was that course - coupled with my naive certainty at my own intellectual brilliance - that led me to develop the theory that my generation was afflicted with ennui.

The Wall had come down, our country was financially prosperous, there hadn't been an prolonged war in 20 years.  We Americans didn't really know how it was to suffer, I thought. Therefore, we were bored, complacent, and unable to really create anything.  All of this was of course only based on anecdotal evidence, not that it mattered.

My boyfriend at the time was someone who had suffered.  He and his family were refugees from Afghanistan trying to wait out the fight there. Everything I learned about them made my sheltered little life seem all that more insignificant. Don't get me wrong, I was and am grateful to have had a life of comfort and little worry, but was this luxury a back on which to stand on and reach higher or one that blocked our way?

When I later landed a series of non-profit jobs, my pet ennui theory turned into an obsession about voter turn-out. Why didn't anyone care? How could people be so blase about their civic responsibilities? I would bore people at parties and get togethers. I got labeled as a tree-hugger. I didn't mind as it was true, but wished that I could change people's minds about becoming involved.

Along came W: a true beneficiary of public apathy and disengagement. No one I knew really cared who was president. Lesser of two evils was the prevailing logic accompanied by a shrug. We didn't pay attention. We didn't invest anything of ourselves. The presidency wasn't going to affect us and we couldn't affect it. Everyone knows what happened next and we only had ourselves to blame.

Last night, the Companion Cube and I were standing in a crowded bar, waiting for the spontaneous party traveling and blocking the street to move on. After getting a few random high-fives from strangers, we spoke to the guy bellied up in front of us. "America's greatest attribute," he said breathlessly, "is its ability to learn and adapt." As little as five hours before, I probably would have argued with him, mentioning the huge steps back we've taken as a nation in recent years. But at that moment, I completely agreed.

Let me mention that I believe that McCain is a good and patriotic man. I dare say he should have been president in 2000 and might even go so far as to say 2004 as well, but people just didn't care enough. Didn't care enough to pay attention to what the lies and smears said about the people who perpetuated them. As for this year, I submit that he did not lose this election. Rather, Obama won it.

He won it by successfully reminding the populace what I've been lecturing anyone who would listen for eons: yes, you should care and, yes, you matter. I've spent 8 years griping about the nation's swirling around the toilet, but maybe it did take those 8 years of bumbling and stumbling to make us realize the errors of our ways. If so, maybe history will indeed look back on W fondly. Without him all this ridiculous hope I'm feeling this morning might not have been possible.

Comments

[alejo699]

Amen.