What a Day?

So. It's finally here. January 20th, 2009. Today marks the immense shift in power as former President Bush finally steps down to leave the office to Barack Obama. I'm sure I'll never forget this moment. It marks a shift that I, as a growing American and a strong liberal, have been eagerly anticipating for some time. I cannot claim to know more about politics than any other average 18 year old English major at Boston University, but I am certain that this shift has long been identified as a necessary one.
Throughout the eight year presidency of George H.W. Bush, the United States saw an immense reduction of constitutional rights and control of its actions, as power was jammed as fast and as innefficiently as possible into the late president's pocket. I continue to draw parrallels between the war in Iraq and the rule of the Emporer in the Star Wars Trilogy (obviously to an immensely lesser extent). In essence, as time has wore on, more and more of Bush's decisions and actions have become less and less clear in their purpose. The conflict between terror and the Bush Administration was used as an excuse to start a conflict that began because of the fear of the American people. After the dust has cleared, Americans are finally becoming aware of how they have been duped by the president. As a result of fear, Bush was able to steal power just as Senator Palpatine was.
Now, don't get me wrong. The connection between the two stories is hardly exact. I have no doubt that former President Bush is not and was not the epitome of evil in the world. He acted according to his world view and I can respect him for sharing my commitment to uphold the ideals and values of the United States in my world view. If there is anything that I am dissapointed in it is the integrity of the American people. It is because of fear that we are now in this pickle. It is because of our fear that we are now immersed in an international conflict that has dominated our lives over the past years and are steeped in a downhill economy pleading for rejuvenation. Our fear fueled what has happened. When I say our fear, I refer to the fear of a majority of American people.
Now we can look to the future. In the past months, our country has shown that it is no longer afraid to cower and hide behind one man. We are ready to work with Barack Obama and the government that we have elected to build the more perfect union for which we strive. I will never forget this day for those reasons.

On an entirely different note, my head remains a celebrating entity on this day, while my body is a different story. I find myself simply going through the same motions. I woke up this morning at seven o'clock in order to shower, eat a wholesome breakfast, and get to my differential equasions class by 8:30. Afterwards, I attended two other classes and headed over to the GSU for some lunch, just like any other day. It was then that I realized via the live CNN feed of the inauguration that President Obama had already been sworn in and had given his speech. I have since watched it in its entirety online, but I am still surprised that not one person to whom I talked before I saw it for myself mentioned the day's defining events. Here's my point. The fact remains that while the world is changing every single day, my life remains drastically monotonous in disposition. My high school United States History teacher, Ms. Kavanagh, pointed this observation out to me a number of years ago, and it has stuck with me. Tomorrow, the United States will begin its first full day with Barack Obama as president. And yet, the majority of Americans will simply do what they did last Wednesday. The economy will change, for better or for worse, and the world will change over time because of this inauguration, but I need to struggle to make these changes a tangible part of my life. My world needs to change because of the changes around me. Even if I simply read another article about the goings on of the world every day, or engage in another conversation than normal every day, I will be doing my part to be observant of the world and its changes around me. I believe that if we can all do this as Americans, our role can never be diminished as it was over the past 8 years, and we will maintain our influence on the world around us.
And so I say, emancipate your mind! Free it from the norm. Break free from cultural bindings and build your own views on the world. We will all grow as a result.

Cold: The Nuisance that Humbles

It doesn't take a meteorologist or even an especially observant Bostonian to say that it is flippin' cold outside! Let's be honest, its starting to get to even the grittiest of us over here in the Bay State. The past few days have seen temperatures below the zero mark in single and double digit varieties multiple times. The long walk from dorm room to class has elongated itself considerably with the addition of frozen ears and fingers to the strain of muscles over hill and dale.
Sure, we can all agree that the cold is a nuisance. That much is a given. Even the most acclimated, warm blooded person out there can get awfully uncomfortable when the temperature hits that specific low, and boy, has it hit it.
It doesn't come with surprise that most every conversation with anyone these days contains some reference to the cold. This phenomenon got me thinking. If all we can seem to do is complain about the cold, there must be something incompatible between us and the frozen world around us. This seems simple enough, but lets go further with it instead of just tossing it aside as just another observation.
What I'm suggesting is that perhaps mankind simply wasn't cut out or designed to deal with as large a temperature scale as we do. While the human race is infinitely original in its ability to develop solutions to the problem of hot or cold temperatures, before the evolution of these solutions, humans were far less successful in the extremities of the world. This is the reason why human life began in the fertile crescent, simply because of its mild climate. It was that set of background characteristics that created human life and thus that sort of climate and background ought to have been the resulting environment in which the human race could grow, just like any other developing organism of this world. It was at this point that mankind, for some reason, deviated from any other course of life ever seen before it. In essence, it grew to inhabit the entire world, and eventually, to seek the ability to survive on other worlds.
In following my train of thought, you may be rolling your eyes at this point, realizing my eventual destination. I only ask, however, that you refrain from judging my conclusions before I am able to explain their meaning.
It is true that I am questioning the dominance of human life over this world, despite our ability to, without outside influence and assistance, survive in a majority of this world's climates. However, the fact remains that I am simply questioning it. I am not judging the human race, as much of its development simply has occurred as a result of necessity and the intent to better human life. On the other hand, as a human being, I feel that I ought to be humbled by experiencing the sort of environmental characteristics that I shouldn't be able to survive.
So, why us? Why wasn't it the fish that found a way to breathe on land or the cheetah that developed the coat to stay warm in colder climates? I don't have a comprehensive answer. Hell, in my opinion, humans haven't done too too much to deserve the name we have. As the top producer, by far, of the world's pollution and the least efficient users of its natural resources, we haven't given too much back for our amazing gift.
Again, I don't write in attempt to chastise mankind for its dominance, but rather to humble the next person to complain about the cold weather. We must strive to realize that the reason for our discomfort is because we were meant to be uncomfortable, and the only one to blame for it is ourselves. Lets be humbled by nature. If we can do that, maybe we can begin to give something back to the world in which we live, a place that deserves more respect than we give it.