Donnie Doubter....

What if there was no financial crisis. If Bush had decided not to invade another sovereign nation and lied about his motivation for doing so. What if all we were concerned about right now was whether the Tennessee Titian's, were as good and their record or whether Brad and Angelina are really splitting up. If the country was fine and dandy, would America have made history?Would America elect its first minority president?

I thought of this, because the other day there was a story on the news about if the push for alternative energy would subside now that gas prices have dropped dramatically. Remember way back in the summer when people were actually conserving? Thinking before we drove that extra mile and thinking that regular coffee from McDonald's was better than that $4 latte from Starbucks. It took $4 a gallon gas to make us park are minivans and favorite SUVs. It took a market collapse and rampant gas speculation to make us steer clear of caffeine dispensing baristas and $4 specialty coffees or decide to walk or take the bus or bike for daily trips.

Politicians rarely want to tell us that we are a country of excess. That we are spoiled. Jimmy Carter tried to tell us in his famous "Malaise" speech and was quickly replaced by the ever positive Ronald Reagan. "We're not spoiled. We're a shining city on the hill". Like telling a country full of over eaters that your only fat if you think so."

My point is that this country seems to only make serious changes when we have to. We only seem willing to take a chance when our collective backs are against the wall.

I guess I should not be surprised that desperation is one of the strongest motivators of change. Like the Alabama bus boycott in the '50's. The bus companies were losing so much money that they caved and let blacks ride anywhere they wanted to on the bus. Our military was so hard up for recruits that they lowered their standards for admission.

But is this why America made history last week? Did Bush,Congress and Wall Street mess things up so much that it drove the electorate to consider the formally inconsiderable? Or is this just the ramblings of a suspicious black man unwilling to believe in the "new" America. I hope it is the latter.