another four

there isn't an atom in my body that celebrates the continued presidency of our fearless, foolish leader. but, as bush was sworn in two days ago, as he promised to value the support of our allies, and as he proceeded to find 27 different ways to squeeze hot word freedom into his inaugural address (please, count them yourself), i found a renewed faith in something unexpected.

taking the alley into westwood on january 20, i caught up with my mom on the phone. "strange, the roads are all blocked off," i mentioned in passing. i planned to meet someone for dinner on a central village corner, so i took a sharp left, heading towards our rendez-vous. that sharp left led me right into a horse's mouth. i screamed (poor horse), much to the amusement of the hundred or so policemen lining the avenue. five or six dozen horses grunted, spat, and defecated on streets normally lined with impatient l.a. drivers. my mom calmly suggested i wait on another corner.

the streets had been cautiontaped off by lapd to give term two protesters free passage around the village. they were not isolated to two-lane side roads, either: famed wilshire boulevard was trafficless for the first time since i took up residency in so cal. the police did not grasp tightly to their holsters, waiting for an uprising. they, instead, smiled and escorted the thousands down through the centre of town. i excused myself from the dinner table to wave peace signs at the marching crowd, a crowd that grinned at the prospect of having passed the halfway point of our dearest emperor's reign.

since starting my studies at ucla, i have heard nothing but complaints from my elders about the apathy of modern day students. according to them, we just don't care anymore. we immerse ourselves in a material world and do not concern ourselves with the consequences of our inaction. we attend what is supposed to be the bluest of blue institutions- a public californian university- but we do not so much as lift a finger to change the world around us for the better. i now see that they are wrong.