THE POST-BUSH WORLD

living in a traditionally red state which voted blue for the first time in decades, I was not sure whether the aura of totally blissed-out elation would translate to the faces of everyone I met today, and in general I found the atmosphere a little subdued. last night at the bar we had witnessed something so monumental, I felt, that there was a little bit of hangover from all the excitement, even for those who weren't drinking anything. instead, today, growing up steadily like a little insistent weed, I felt a tickling sense of hope inside. every time I remembered that we live in a new world I broke out into a grin again.

I like to think this is the beginning of many new things, not just political ones. I have been living in a bush world since I was sixteen, and I have come to associate so many aspects of normal american life with his terrible administration: selfishness, lack of concern for the future, lack of empathy. the worst thing about the bush administration was that it was squarely oriented in the mindset of business as usual. business as usual is death to this planet, since it means continuing down the path of waging war while ignoring serious environmental problems, as though those would just solve themselves. the bush administration could not have been ignorant of the fact that its policies ruined lives and damaged our planet, but because they were part of that selfish world of entitlement, they knew all they had to do was give lip-service to environmental protection until their term ran out. which is exactly what they did, and will continue to do, probably attempting even more anti-environmental shit before they get booted from the white house.

so this bit of hope I have, that might grow into a lasting involvement with politics and/or community service, is based necessarily on this new administration. of course, everyone knows, we didn't just elect a black guy, although that was phenomenal in itself; we chose a new destination for ourselves, a new mode of behavior. at least, this is what I'm hoping as I walk around now. I'm hoping people will suddenly be inspired to be active in their communities, and to be tolerant of others and more willing to listen, and more aware of things going on in the world. I am hoping I will be more inspired, myself. it all gets very gooey and druggy, if you follow the emotion to its extremity, but what the country was yearning for was a new era, and I am hoping we now have one.

so, because this country is going to change, this blog will change as well. I don't really know how to make this space useful, but at least the content will be more outwardly focused and less self-indulgent. there is so much potential for things to actually happen that are outside business as usual now, and those things are typically worth blogging about. I know I for one am excited about this, and this. if there is an administration willing to honestly take on climate change and species extinction, it might in turn act as a model for its citizens. isn't this what government should do - represent the best in ourselves? here's to being inspired by our government, for the first time in eight years. they have felt like eight hundred years, but we should consider ourselves free now.