I got tired of this old world for a while. I disengaged, and decided my energy was much better spent huddling in my new home and taking care of my child.
Surprisingly, the world spun by quite nicely without me. I watched events like Katrina and Rita without comment. Rather, I donated where I thought it would do the most good and tried to find my old faith in God.
People became more polarized over Iraq, if that was possible. Between the calls to 'stay the course' and 'cut and run,' I wondered (without any real passion) where the real solutions lay.
Local politics even failed to interest me. Hizzoner could call for Saudi-style punishments for taggers. I just shrugged, because I no longer have any reason to expect the mayor to seriously address the problems of my city.
Plamegate? Meh.
Murtha? Meh.
Lebanon, even? Oh, well.
Apathy is strange to me, and I'm finally beginning to shake it off.
I've joined an e-mail political roundtable. I'm reading news again. I'm listening to radio.
Sometimes engagement is painful, but here's what's made it necessary: my son has started asking questions. He's paying attention, which means I have to.
So, despite my loss of faith, I'll say one more prayer – help me guide him to his own opinions. Help me help him know right from wrong without being too didactic. Help me teach him that hard right is just as wrong as hard left. And most of all, help me encourage him to think for himself.
I will try to be a good example.
