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September 6, 2005
Disconnected from the Mainstream: Seniorship and Patriotism
life
Woo! And thus the first day of school is over. I think it's slowly starting to hit me that I am a senior, although I'm always a bit out of touch with that kind of thing. After all, It doesn't really feel any different... Sure, we have an air conditioned lounge and it's fun to flout such power, but we aren't really that much more special than the other grades.
The teachers and administration claim that we have some great power of "leadership" that we must now exercise. I'll certainly agree that we have some such power, but they overblow it; we don't magically have this power because we're seniors, we have it because of our positions near the top of the social totem pole. And this power doesn't automatically work on everyone at the school; it only works on people who are climbing the same social totem pole and who have respect for us.
I suppose I'm just a bit disconnected from the situation because I've never wanted to impress any of the past seniors in a bid to increase my standing. I can certainly imagine some of the current underclassmen changing their dress or actions to try to fit in better with the "popular" group, however; and thus I suppose that those on the totem pole usually deemed "popular" do indeed have a rather mighty ability to lead their younger schoolmates.
Speaking of feeling disconnected, I don't really sympathize with the notion of patriotism which runs throughout America's veneer. Our new Government book at school speaks of patriotism in flowery terms, claiming that it's a quality which good citizens posses. Personally, however, I feel great loyalty and love for the principals on which the founding fathers based the country, not for the country itself.
The country is but a fallible beast, capable of being deceived and of deceiving. The principals on which it was based, however, are immortal and infallible; although a mortal rendering of them may fall or become tarnished, they will always remain to guide the next generation closer to their ideal.
Posted by Trevor Savage at September 6, 2005 6:22 PM