| I am simultaneously exited and loathsome of the approaching election year, as we breathe and take in more of the same from two lineups of politicians masquerading as leaders. Unlike the 2004 election, I am no longer firmly engrained in the Democratic Party's doctrine, but I am not so far removed to call myself a Republican either -- and I don't imagine I ever will be. I have lately found it difficult to really decide just what I believe, and I find this at once terrifying, since I am no longer 16 but 22. At 15, I was a carbon-copy of my father's beliefs, and by 18, I had completely transformed, hence why I cast my vote for John Kerry in the 2004 election. I can say that I probably would do the same given a new opportunity -- as George W. Bush has continued to be a below average President, perhaps an understatement. But as we have long tired of Bush I have likewise tired of the same recycled Blame Bush logic (or lack thereof) I see and experience daily from news media, politicians, college professors, and everyday people. No one is interested in solving problems, only finding people to blame for them. A lack of leadership -- from elected officials, namely -- magnifies this dilemma. I harbor a border-line hatred for both of our political parties as they squander fortunes, opportunities too many to count. And a part of me at the same time exclaims: This is Politics. This is the Way of our world. I do not agree with most tenets of Communist thought, but in some of its early leaders, I see a genuine and idealistic effort to change the world. Capitalism, quite differently, accepts the world as it is, accepts people as they are and doesn't seek to change them, and consequently has been much more successful. I wonder, often, if it is worth the effort to try and change the world, or if it is better to simply accept humankind, take the good with the bad, watch a few football games, and try to live a content and comfortable life. Perhaps the solution is somewhere towards the middle. If life were a football game, for instance, perhaps we would be talking about the difference between the Hail Mary throw and the short-passing game -- we all know which is more likely to be successful in the end. But, as they say, we only live once, sometimes we only get one chance to do something, to change something, or to be something -- and who's to say we shouldn't aim for the sky each and every time? Yet, in other times it's better to regroup, return to the basics, your principles, your foundation -- to rediscover who you are all over again, to rebuild and fight another day. It's difficult sometimes to balance the lessons of your father and those of your professor -- impossible, even -- but in the end, we all have to make a decision. I've decided to begin writing again. |
