It’s been said that Generation Y is the apathetic
generation. I don’t know if that’s
really true, but maybe we, like they, are suffering from:
weltschmerz
\VELT-shmairts\ noun, often
capitalized
\VELT-shmairts\ noun, often
capitalized
1 : mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual
state of the world with an ideal state[1]
This morning my husband announced that if someone were to
ask him what party he is registered to vote under that he’d have to answer,
“I’m in the disillusioned party.” I
imagine he’s not alone in that. Like
many this time of year, we are using the mute button on the television much
more than usual to avoid listening to all the campaign ads. I suppose the polls show that all the
mudslinging works, but considering how much we’re all complaining about it,
you’d think they’d try something else. On
the other hand, maybe in our current post-Christian state, we actually think
mudslinging is ok?
Ron Paul, in response to Gingrich in one of the South
Carolina debates, suggested that we should do unto others as we would have them
do to us.[2] Of course he’s right in that, and maybe our weltschmerz comes from wishing that were
how we we’re all behaving. It’s what
we’re preaching from our pulpits, or at least what we should be preaching. But Ron Paul got booed for suggesting that
this golden rule could be applied to foreign policy. Sure, being nice isn’t always fun, but isn’t
it still the right thing to do?
I’m not suggesting we should all be running around hugging
everyone and everything, even bare naked penguins, although yesterday was National
Penguin Awareness Day[3] …but
maybe it’s time to be the country that’s known for being Christian because
we’re so good at helping each other out and being respectful of each
other. Isn’t that what our mothers
taught us? Our campaigns would sure be
different, and maybe the rest of the world wouldn’t be so anti-American after
awhile.
Sorry, I got off in a little bit of weltschmerz.
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