There’s a scene in "An American President" where Mike Douglas is giving his daughter a book about the constitution. She is not thrilled and he tells her that “this is exciting stuff.” He goes on to give her a little talk about how American governance and its origin is not the dull stuff of books, but is an ongoing experiment in human nature. It’s a small scene, but it’s one of my favorites.
The original purpose of this blog was to provide a place to vent about the outrage of the Bush Administration, but it reengaged me in politics and that “American President” is right, this is exciting stuff. Even when we do it badly, American governance is an awesome process. Decisions are being made that directly affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people and indirectly affect the lives of billions.
How can one not be excited about this process which occurs not just in the halls of Congress or the West Wing of the White House, but in newspapers, on television, in coffee shops and libraries and across the breakfast tables all across the nation? And, yes, in blogs on the Internet.
There’s a saying in some parts of the country that, ”If you don’t like the weather just wait a minute.” Such, in a way, is the nature of our government as elections have their seasons. We are in a season that promised change. It has delivered little, but it is still the season of that promise. What will be the nature and degree of that change?
We are in a season of corruption and naysayers claim that cannot change because it is the corruption that must change itself. They are wrong. The ultimate power still lies with the electorate and when someone or something awakens them that change, too, will come.
How can you not be excited in times like this?
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