By The Editors

We as a nation, have been feeling fairly comfortable ever since the fall of communism. Since then there has been no common cause that has invoked an impetus for large-scale unified action.

As the class of 2005 departs academia for a world deeply polarized and fragmented by political and social ideology, bear in mind the difference between futile discourse and effective change.

Bereft of substantive challenge, we did what a nation in such a condition should do. We began taking on the more complicated, less urgent problems that take a lot of time and effort to solve. Though the progress made on race relations has been nowhere near the rate maintained during the civil rights movement, there have been some small moves made. Numerous interest groups have rallied for and against institutions that they deem just and unjust, such as legal abortion and state-sanctioned same-sex marriage.

But the fact is the citizens of the United States have been collectively bored and restless. It seems obvious that racism still exists in America, but no one has been able to persuade a following of people about what can and should be done about that for a while now. The nation needs patient and honest debates on both abortion and same-sex marriage, we have been focusing on these issues so much lately that both sides have grown impatient and the debate has suffered. Americans were so bored in 2000 that they spent most of the year on a sex scandal.

Restlessness has caused Americans to become distracted and hostile toward one another. Racism, abortion and same-sex marriage are important issues. However, the country is no longer debating, we are simply fighting and screaming without making any progress.

We need to refocus if we want to make progress on any front. We need to move away from issues that divide us and take care of the urgent issues that we all can agree on. Genocide and terrorism are clearly weighing on everyone’s mind. We can tell that people care about these issues because, whether convincing or not, these are the terms with which the president attempted to discuss the invasion of Iraq. President Bush framed his argument for the Iraq war first around terrorism by claiming Saddam Hussein was aiding terrorists, second around genocide by claiming Hussein was gassing his own people.

Unfortunately, the country is still more divided over same-sex marriage, abortion and honesty with which the president combats terrorism and genocide. We need a leader who will, for a while, shun the controversial issues and focus the country on the important issues. We know what issues will unite the country and we know what the big problems are. It is time for us to be uncomfortable, stop the infighting and get something done.