People who have always been dead

It's that time of year when the diesel cheeseboxes appear on the roads again, tourists complete their migration back to their nests, and Beloit College reminds us what events have formed the perspectives of today's college freshmen.

One of my favorites from this year's Mindset List® is #34:

They have always known that "In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups."

The item on the list that gave me the most pause was #2:

They have known only two presidents.

Since a President can only serve eight years, I'm assuming that the president-during-infancy is not being counted. Otherwise, we have the first incoming class of all 16-year-olds. Anyway, I was born under LBJ (sounds kind of astrological, does it not?) so my lifespan thus far has covered eight members of the White House Gang: LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Shrub. By the time I was 18-years-old, the First Bedroom had survived five different makeovers by First Ladies. The Oval Office was more merry-go-round than the set-in-stone throne it must seem like to today's newbie-adults.

Related to this, my voting ballot for the primary election arrived. A Senator and Representative are on the ballot, as are two state representatives. It is a pretty short ballot because there are no choices to make in three of the four races. The only place on the ballot where it matters where my pen hits the page is for the Senate race. For every other seat, I can mark either the incumbent or the write-in box. This is not an election so much as it is an affirmation. It is a disturbing trend. Whether or not I like the ideas/performance of the incumbent, his/her party provides no options.

I find myself stuck between two competing ideas: I should not paint the world with a broad brush and force categorizations on individuals but I am forced to settle for lack of nuance in my candidates for office, menu selections, music choices, etc.


Hmm, I need to think about this more. I'm going for a walk.