Primary season continues and so does the harassment I get from friends and students, and even family apparently. The democratic race is close, but I'm not about to admit defeat just yet. I'm holding onto hope that Americans will start thinking before this thing is over. We're divided down the middle on the democratic side and I don't think this is a good thing. I've been told my rationale for picking Hillary is foolish, that despite choosing the lesser of two evils my choice is still evil and that tradition really isn't important.

Last week, my humanities classes discussed how art is sometimes utilized as a means of propaganda. Okay, so this was a part of the core content I'm required to teach them. And we discussed artists such as Francisco Goya. I made it relevenat. But maybe, just maybe, I had an ulterior motive for picking this topic at this exact time. After discussing how the guys in the Romantic period used art as a means of social protest, to give themselves a voice they wouldn't otherwise have had, I tried to make some real-world connections for these young whipper snappers.

We looked at images from World War II and the Save Darfur Campaign. And I had them create their own propaganda about the Iraq war. It was actually one of those days when you know you have it--a fleeting moment when the students actually recognize some sort of relevance in this class to their own existence. Finally, I had them watch the "Yes We Can" video I posted on this blog awhile back.

Now, most of these teenagers do not care the least for politics. Save a few liberal, socially-conscious nerds, these kids may not even be able to tell me who is running for president right now. Heck, I have kids that can't tell me what continent they live on or how many states are in our country. Yet, these kids are bombarded by propaganda on a daily, even hourly basis. And I think that most of them realized this by the end of the period. I didn't show them this video to influence them. But instead to inquire them, maybe even beg them to think critically and not just be American sheep.

Thankfully, my MTV generation was not easily swayed. I think this video is an amazing propaganda tool and very powerful. I'll admit that. But most of these kids recognized it as just that, propaganda. It's a naive attempt to influence their thinking by exploiting the very things they hold so dear in their daily lives--technology, music and hope in some sort of goodness that they may have lost since their youth, but don't yet realize.

I find myself sitting there, watching this video for five straight class periods. And if I let my brain be lulled to sleep, I might just be "inspired" by this guy. What he says sounds so good. But what is it he's really saying? Geez, I get the same inspiration by listening to my Ipod. Mr. Obama would make an amazing preacher. That charisma is unmistakable. Admitted.

Let me just mention an interesting connection I discoved to Obama last week. I've mentioned before that Obama was a law professor at the University of Chicago during my time there. And I had a great deal of respect for him at the time. Well, it was during this time that I lost my attitude of tolerance and took a firm stand on my beliefs. It was the year after 9/11 and I was a student studying the Middle East. I took a class with a guy named Rashid Khalidi. He's an amazingly intelligent guy who is very active in that region of the world. I even saw him being interviewed on CNN once while I was his student. He's an amazing lecturer because his knowledge is so vast. You guys know I'm a nerd and I'm gonna work myself to death when it comes to school. No matter what I did for this guy, despite conferences and reworks, I was not going to do do better than a B. And all the Muslim girls in their headscarfs refused to sit next to me in this class. I mean, get up and move if I sat within 3 seats of them in the lecture hall. Turns out good ol' Dr. Khalidi has some connections to the PLO and may have a sketchy background. Not surprising to me. But don't worry Steve, I'm not going to accuse Mr. Obama of having any radical Muslim connections. Please. I'm sure they have a beer together, maybe play darts. No deeper connection. A mere coincidence.

But it comes down to this, win or lose. These are two people, filling two minority demographics, with very similar stances on very important issues. There are differences, yes. But will it matter? Likely not. I'm still on board with Hillary. But I've been thinking more about issues than people lately. And hoping that whoever gets in come November, does something to make life a little easier for people. That's all we want, and that's all we need.

We need to figure out how to stop a war and still protect ourselves. How to provide healthcare to the people in our country. How to solve poverty at home and globally. How to educate our children and light a fire in them for something, anything. How to cure apathy in our citizens. If someone can do that, I throw my support behind them. I don't want to hear catchy songs or inspiring speeches, repetitive rhetoric with intellectual jargon. I want action. I want solutions. I want to see evidence. Whoever, whatever.

So, in the spirit of issues and not people, our country and not characters, I'm including a video, without candidates, just issues, and thoughts. It's about people and changing things.