Alexander Brown - Opinions Editor

This week marks a small respite from the panic inducing news that characterized most of September, but the roller coaster that is modern American life won’t be at rest for too long mainly because this nation refuses to get anything through its collective skull.    
    

Case in point, the current energy crisis in America has completely changed the way Americans think about oil; now we want it more than ever. Our presidential candidates seem to be guilty of this, trading barbs over whether or not it’s necessary to drill for more oil rather than hyping alternative sources of energy, such as William Yuan’s more efficient solar cell battery.    
    

Of course, it could be because our politicians refuse to change the way they run their campaigns and ultimately their offices. Since the party conventions, the level of meaningful discourse in American politics has once again given way to name calling and jeering. But I guess you can call it learning on John McCain’s part, for it was that same negative politics that helped defeat him during the 2000 Republican primary.
    

But holding the politicians up to a higher standard would be great if we actually did more than talk about it. In the 21st century, politicians start running for office the day after the winners are sworn into office, thus killing any real governance and creating a system of faux leadership based on speeches which draw more from “the dozens” than any actual ideas on how government can be improved.
  

However, this all presupposes that Americans can take cues in spite of, rather than from our national leaders. Take California’s Proposition 8, which will add a ban of gay marriage to the state constitution. No one on either side is arguing for a redefinition of the religious position of marriage, just the government’s acknowledgement of same sex couples. Detractors really don’t care that this is a civil rights issue rather than a moral issue, and will keep equating this issue to the weakening of American values, as muddled as they are right now.
    

But even locally people cannot come to a decision on how to appropriately spend their time and energy. The last few weeks saw an unprecedented gasoline shortage in Atlanta, fueled much by panicking motorists. Rather than asking why people were waiting around for 45 minutes in line to get gas, this city went about its business, with no calls for increased MARTA presence or efficiency in the metro area or a simple plan to make sure this doesn’t happen during the next hurricane.
    

But what can we expect from the general public if the centers for ideas in this country, namely our colleges and universities, routinely stifle intelligent reflection? Many Men of Morehouse seem to be quite a bit more terrified of a columnist’s views on interpersonal behavior than on matters for leaders to be in front of, such as the rising costs of tuition, the rapid gentrification of the surrounding area or the growing realization that America still cannot break from its racism.
    

But then all this presupposes that America in general actually cares to learn anything either from past mistakes or from the simple act of picking up a book. Eight years ago this country elected a president who quickly became more known for personality traits (which spawned two full comedy shows during his presidency) than his ability to govern, and this year the president’s party holds up a vice presidential candidate with many of the same qualities.

This country is truly in danger of being knocked off its pedestal, if only we really knew.

Published: October 15, 2008 11:35 AM