Temporary Soapbox

I've taken it upon myself to research the candidates and their platforms for the upcoming election. I always mean to do that, and am always frustrated when watching the news and feeling lost, but the noise of life interferes, and there is seemingly always something more pressing, or frankly more fun to do. I'm truly torn so far, however. I noticed today that Edwards is dropping out, and it made me think about being in the voting booth that day-what names would be on the ticket? Obama/Edwards? I could certainly get behind that one. Clinton/Edwards? Definitely better than McCain/Romney, etc! But how do they differ? In a rough list of issues, they seem pretty well matched, except of course that Hillary tends to be more active about women and children's rights and development. Obama seems to be more on the fence about issues, but that's not entirely bad, and perhaps more realistic in a bipartisan leader. Maybe that's just the part of my brain speaking that doesn't want to vote for someone based on promise of action, and be disappointed when she ultimately and inevitably gets distracted. I found this quote by Hillary, though and I think it really sums up the national apathy in my generation; "The economy creates consumers but cannot create citizens". For my generation, the top priority is acquisition, not action. One needs only to watch television for a moment to realize that we are a nation of consumers, not citizens. What if Bush had been president in 1939? Would he have let Hitler continue with his crusade unless he threatened our Bavarian Hops supply? I don't presume to have an answer to the widespread apathy in my generation, and I'm not innocent of staying in a bubble so as to not have to think about the depressing state of affairs, but I do see a need for one, and I really think I, and a lot of other people around my age, would be more than willing to work toward that change. I think we just can't picture national pride without blind faith-no propaganda, just a real reason to take pride in and support the nation that lets us be who we are, even if that is a generation of epicures.