Postcards from Young America

I’ve logged almost 20 hours of train time on my trip so far. By the time I get to LA it will be 30. Though a fourth of my trip has been on a train, I haven’t gotten tired of it. Trains are more comfortable and friendly than flying and allow you to get up, walk around and enjoy the view (not to mention great leg room for us 6’4” travelers).

On this 10 hour leg, I am sitting by a junior at Stanford. He transferred from Occidental College this year to study history to get ready for law school. More interestingly, he is in the Stanford band. You know, that group of crazy college kids dressed in wacky outfits featuring their signature red vests pretending to play instruments. Well, he plays trumpet. Sometimes with his pants down (don’t worry, it’s for good luck when Stanford kicks a field goal).

As wacky as this makes him sound, he is a very intelligent, well-spoken, and passionate student. After our gripes about each others football teams (Go Ducks), we had an hour-long conversation about the standing of US government and politics.

We discussed the problems of two-party systems, federal and state governance, and the changing roles of political leaders. We agreed on forgotten core values and complained why it was so hard for a nation our size to re-instate them. What upset us most was the lack of passion and education that surrounds our government; voters and leaders alike.

A functional democracy needs citizens who are informed and ready to discuss how to change their government for the better. We both came to this conclusion in a very upset and almost cynical way. However, the irony was reassuring. What we want to happen in this country, what we thought wasn’t happening enough, was going on right then and there.

Two strangers who met on a train both ready and excited to discuss ways to make their government better.

It doesn’t matter what you stand for. Just stand for something and be ready to defend it. Whether that means disagreeing with your system of government or playing trumpet with your pants down.

I still have six hours to LA. I wonder what we’ll talk about next.