For years, I have encouraged others my age to participate in the unfolding, unique experience of a government by the people.
But attempting to convince my peers that politics aren't pointless has been like beating my head against a wall.
I am genuinely excited to see my generation respond positively to a political leader as he issues a new call to dedicate ourselves to something better than today's mix of half-measures and unmet challenges.
But I, for one, feel the same passion every time I think of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's timeless reassurance, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
I still long to live up to John F. Kennedy's call to change, imploring me to "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
And I still envy the steel spines of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Sen. Robert Kennedy as they stood for civil rights, welfare for the poor and health care for all in the face of political consequence.
I have wondered for many years whether the Democratic Party's tradition of unblinking hope and progress would run through my own generation. I have hesitated to make my own commitment to its ranks because I demanded more than echoes of inspiring words and memories of greatness.
I am happy to say that I do not have to hesitate any longer.
But Sen. Barack Obama's call to action cannot stand alone. It must point to a multitude of courageous leaders, both past and present, instead of drowning them out or pushing them aside.
Although our base instinct is to follow a leader, a single person better than ourselves, we must see the flaw in this. People like Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, President Bill Clinton and Sen. John Edwards are only human and can never fully embody the principles that define our vision of something better. Even as men and women fail, as they surely will, these principles must continue to light the way.
So, where can we safeguard these treasured principles?
Wearily reviewing the recent primary, one which gave a black man named Barack Hussein Obama a global pulpit, the moral we are left with is that a political party can act boldly when people participate in it.
Through the party, local and statewide leaders can get the attention and support they need to connect with uneasy Americans and bring them into the fold. The party is the only mechanism we have for safeguarding agreed upon principles and, as a united front, fighting for them over an entire lifetime.
If Obama is sincere about living out the audacity of hope, he will use his pulpit to point the way forward with contempt for personal, shortsighted ambitions.
The way forward for this emerging majority is to reshape and revitalize the entire Democratic Party as a vehicle of change for decades to come. This lofty challenge, met successfully by FDR, JFK and LBJ, is what makes for a truly historic election.
Saying "No, we can't" and settling for an easy ride to the White House on the impulsive behavior of a handful of voters, however, is the epitome of pointless politics.
Michael S. Belle is a second-year political science graduate student.
