The Spark Notes of Liberal Issues

If I were to take all the hopes and aspirations from the dozens of interviews I conducted during the last 12 weeks and try to make a Disney World theme park (maybe called Youth Politics Kingdom), I would create the 16th street Mall of Denver during the DNC. The 16th Street Mall (a long stretch of road ensconced by stores) is a political junkie with ADD’s dream, for you can’t walk for three seconds without having all the issues flash before your eyes.

For the young woman spoke with in Del Rio, Texas,  who crosses the border every day to go to and from work, a group of Mexican-Americans carry signs that say: “Mexicans are not animals, don’t put up a fence.”

For the Italian Ice vendor in Charleston, South Carolina, who is trying to become a teacher and wants nothing more than for the country to revamp its education system there are men and women wearing shirts that say, “Got Tuition?” and “No more No Child Left Behind.”

For the young woman who is traveling around the country with her grandparents before her upcoming stint in the Air Force–the woman who claims that “Iraq is not really her scene”– there are the “Iraq Veterans Against the War,” running through the street pantomiming urban warfare.

For the park aids working and living in Big Sur who worry about the state of our environment and the encroachment of offshore drilling, there are dollar bills with McCain’s face with the denomination “Oil Dollar” and pamphlets from the League of Conservation Voters that compare the two candidates energy plans (hopefully made from recycled paper).

For the young man in New Orleans worried about how America is perceived abroad after Guantanamo there is a man dressed in orange “enemy combatant” garb complete with a black bag over his head.

And for all the dispassionate or unconcerned young voters, there are plenty of people carrying signs and wearing shirts with their own agendas: “Bring Back Crystal Pepsi,” “Vote for Satan” and “Cheaper Beer” to name a few.