The times they aren't a-changin'

Bob Dylan once sang that "the times they are a-changin'," and a lot of people stood up and tried to stop it. My aunt's high school went so far as to ban that very song from its hallways. Nonetheless, the times they did a-change, and we look back at them now as some of the most socially productive years of our country.\nWhich brings us to the present -- a time when Dylan has changed his tune considerably. Some might say it's because of his age, others look to drugs, but me? I just think there's nothing good to write about anymore. \nFrankly, the times they aren't a-changin' ... but why?\nThe talk is there. "Moving forward" this and "strongest nation" that. Yet we continue to stand still and come across as anything but leaders of the free world to countless other nations. But once again, why?\nHad you listened around campus in the days before and after the Nov. 2 election, you would have heard the answer. Even among a cast of thousands of the nation's most liberal citizens, you heard one word resonating -- fear.\nIf you want the answer, you'll have to find the answer as to why 11 states resoundingly said no to the rights of gay Americans to be married, the answer as to what swung Ohio and the election in George W. Bush's direction, and the answer as to why the times simply aren't a-changin'. \nFear. And "afraid" doesn't rank too highly on the list of leadership qualities. It's obvious that we stand, right now, as a nation divided. Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals -- call them what you will. The fact of the matter is people are split, and no president should sit in office with half the nation looking up realtors in Canada. \nBut the nation does have one unifying quality, and it's the same thing that brought the nation together during Bush's last term in office. Everyone is afraid. The last time we saw a nation this divided, it took four crashing airplanes and two falling buildings to once again create a nation that was indivisible. So what's it going to take this time?\nI'm afraid to find out, but I guess that just makes me another average American. When we lean on fear, or the exit poll term "moral values," we stifle what this country is supposed to be all about -- progress. We prevent change. We hold back. Success could be looming right around the corner, but we are all too focused on the possibility that someone could be waiting for us around that corner ready to beat us up and take our money. \nOhio churches rallied over 400,000 people together to support an amendment that banned gay marriages because they were afraid of what might happen. You want your election? There it is right there, disguised in a mask of "moral values." \nSo, Democrats, don't be pissed off. Just as much as you are afraid of Bush, there is an extra 3 percent of the country out there more afraid than you. When I watched the election results pour in, all I could see was a nation afraid. A nation more focused on avoiding disaster than achieving greatness. A nation that talked about moving forward but refusing to change, and it's pretty hard to move forward while refusing to change positions. \nI guess the rest of America just had the wrong Dylan track playing on Election Day. Everyone was so busy worrying about when that hard rain's a-gonna fall, that it may be a long time before we see anything a-changin' again.