Like everyone else I know, I am getting increasingly nervous about this coming Tuesday. I just want it to be over with, so I know whether to celebrate or grieve, and take the necessary steps to continue living my life. I've been checking the AP wires and other news sites constantly, partly out of workplace boredom but mostly out of a compulsive need to know if anything new has developed, if there's a bombshell October surprise that could either spell disaster or victory.

But despite all that, and despite my naturally pessimistic inclinations, I think there is reason to have hope. Voter registration is at an all-time high, and that's mostly in urban areas, which usually = Democrat. For better or worse, pop culture figures are more outspoken than ever about the race for president, and most of those figures are supporting Kerry. I think when we look back at this period in history, we'll remember a time that was electrically charged with anticipation, activism, and (I hope) change. To borrow a clich�, this is an exciting time to be alive.

So despite all the divisive rhetoric, despite the slimy campaign tactics, and despite the fact that half the nation still supports a terrible, ignorant, mendacious president because they don't see�or, more likely, choose not to see�the way he's misled us ... despite all this, there's some cause for hope, and it tends to manifest itself in lots small ways rather than one big way, like when I spoke with a 23-year-old yesterday who hadn't registered to vote, hadn't felt the need to vote, until just a few weeks ago; it comes from the strangest places, like here, for example.

I think dissenting opinions are most powerful when they come from the unlikeliest sources. Even better when they come from incendiary pop-culture icons who, like it or not, have tremendous sway among the collective consciousness of young people who are otherwise likely to tune out and remain apathetic. It's a faint glimmer of hope in this midst of a cultural morass of willful ignorance and deceitful leadership.

UPDATE: The video has been played on MTV. I never thought I'd use my blog to solicit TRL votes, but you can vote for the video here, which will ensure that it remains in rotation longer.

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