A LONG TIME BETWEEN

When I first wrote in this space some 10 months ago, I thought it was an interesting beginning. I reread the post, became highly self-critical, and proceeded to abandon the project until now. Writing fascinates me, but as I have told so many students, the inner critic is the worst critic, a saying I read many years ago. For some reason, that remains true in my case. Perhaps a lack of confidence, perhaps a timidity to explore. It's a truism that age shapes one's thought process. At 21 I had no fear; at 62 I fear mortality. That leaves some time in between. After that first post, I marched on to something else and let this gather cyberspace cobwebs. But I think I'm going to give it another shot, if for no other reason to state my opinions.

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Politics is front and center now as the November elections edge closer. I'm uneasy in so many ways. When all of us were young, parents and grandparents told us tales of their youthful hardships, emphasizing how much better and easier our own lives were with the evolution of time. I'm beginning to wonder if that evolutionary progression has changed.

Technology explodes faster than one can grasp, at least one as technically challenged as this writer. Is that a good thing or otherwise? The decision seems mixed. On the one hand, knowledge of all types is available in seconds. Communication proceeds at warp speed. Yet such wonderful pastimes as reading and letter-writing have given way to Wikipedia searches and text messaging. I am hardly the right person to judge; we always adjust to change. It's the SPEED of change that concerns me. We barely have time to savor the calculator before the PC changes it all. A number of my students now find reading tedious -- it takes too long to get to the conclusion. Bigger, faster, quicker. Politics relates to this.

I fear the Obamification process. No, I don't dislike Barack Obama or his wife, Michelle. On the one hand, it's exciting that a person of color will likely be elected President. On the other hand, I worry about his lack of experience. It was only four years ago that he was a state senator in Illinois. Can he lead in a troubled, confusing time? Will he be his own counsel or play the absolute party line? So many difficult decisions need addressing -- energy, health care, economic and cultural disparity, etc. Will he listen to a diversity of opinions? What will be his strengths, his weaknesses? Will he be faced with an updated Cuban Missile Crisis? What will be his solutions to above-mentioned problems? His opportunity (as well as his party's) has evolved from a mind-boggling lack of vision and leadership in the Republican Party.

The political pendulum goes back and forth. In 1994 the infamous Contract with America thrust the Republicans to their long-sought control of congress. It was a golden opportunity to make significant change. As always, power, greed, and lapses (both ethical and moral) reversed the process and the Democrats regained their majority some 10 years later. It now appears that both houses of congress and the executive branch will be Democrat-controlled (and by a wide margin) in less than five months. What will happen is the angst-ridden question. Is the two-party system in jeopardy, given the nearly nationwide Republican demise? Where will opposition challenge appear?

One other thought. Are we willing to question the country's leaders? Senator Obama's superb rhetorical eloquence has propelled him far beyond the original curiosity of his candidacy. His defeat of the Clinton machine indicates an American uneasiness with politics as usual. But can he match the rhetoric of hope and change with the reality of problem and solution? More to come, and with resolvedly more frequency.

MM