  Maybe it's because I'm bored. nbsp;  Maybe it's because I need something to look forward to. nbsp;  Maybe it's because I need a cause. nbsp;  Maybe it's simply that I don't want to become the & nbsp;
stupid,  lazy American"  that so many other countries see us as.
nbsp;
 Maybe it's because I'm angry with the way things have been run around here the past four years,  and want everyone around me to know it.
nbsp;
 OK,  that last thing?
nbsp;
 That's not a maybe;  it's a definite.
nbsp;
 I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about the upcoming election.
nbsp;
 I have been watching the nightly news,
 & nbsp;
looking at polls ( which,  I know,  essentially don't mean shit)  and watching urlLink MSNBC .
nbsp;
 Last night's special on urlLink John Kerry vs.  President Nixon was&
nbsp;
particularly interesting.
nbsp; nbsp;
 I loved watching all of the old footage from urlLink The Dick Cavett Show ,  when it seemed as if the young people were so passionate for change.
nbsp;
 I look at what the urlLink MTV generation has come to define now,  and it scares me.
nbsp;
 Britney worshipping,  X- box playing kids who just care who's on TRL today?
nbsp; nbsp;
Then I think about my friends and I back then,  when we were hockey obsessed nuts who loved watching MTV ( back when they actually played videos)
nbsp;
 Hopefully this new generation of spoiled brats come to realize how important they are,  or will be,  once 2008 rolls around.  I&
nbsp;
was&
nbsp;
14 when Bill Clinton was first elected President.
nbsp;
 We had a mock election in my high school,  and,  not surprisingly,  he won by a landslide.
nbsp;
 I remember asking my parents why they couldn't lower the voting age,  since all of us ( spoiled,  MTV loving)  kids had gotten it so right.
nbsp;
 Four years later,  I went with my Dad to the church a few blocks away from our house and I voted for Clinton again,  this time for real.
nbsp;
 It felt so good to be a part of something as&
nbsp;
huge as a Presidential election,  but four years later when that time rolled around again,  I wasn't as excited.
nbsp;
 I voted,
 but it just didn't feel the same.
nbsp;
 The newness and novelty of it had worn off.
nbsp; nbsp;
 And when the vote didn't go my way,  I was disappointed the way one would be when their urlLink favorite hockey team loses the Stanley Cup (
which,
 coincidentally,  had really happened to me only the year before)
nbsp;
 I couldn't believe it.
nbsp;
 I wanted a recount.
nbsp;
 I wanted to believe it was all just a bad dream.
nbsp;
 Where were all of those smart 14 year olds now?
nbsp;
 This year,  the excitement is back.
nbsp;
 We as a country need change,  or we're going to suffocate.
nbsp;
 I plan on doing my part,  by educating myself on all of the issues,  advertising ( see a previous entry for my t- shirt purchase)  and most importantly,  voting on November 2nd.
nbsp;
 Are you going to do yours?
