It's cool by the Pool [COLUMN]

Change is coming...

It's good to see W. go. But I have a funny feeling... Behind all the hype, I feel a vibe that I can only describe...as resonating with the stress-filled insect roar that the movie The Dark Knight started with.

I believe Dark Knight has all the elements of the present wrapped into one intelligent, and practical yarn.

We need a shining Knight to take on the darkness. There are agents of anarchy that face us, and nearly all of them are faceless. Nearly all are aspects of our own selves manifesting in the world - the red hotness of our passions and appetites manifesting as a warming, overheating planet. The greed of our consumption manifesting in high prices and deprivation. The sum of our indulgences manifesting as 'not enough' - in shortages and scuffles over bread crumbs and basics.

I am hopeful seeing - in my own small world - how hard work can be rewarded. On my bicycle I have become stronger through repetitive training, through sacrifice. I'm hopeful because I don't have AIDS, and right now I have my health, and strength, and a good measure of youth and experience to draw on. I don't know if right now is such a great time to be young or old. Change is difficult for both. And it is the thirty-somethings - Generation X, that will lead the world into a new change, facing a number of monsters, monsters that will laugh at us, and in many cases, outwit us.

We do have resources. The internet is one. Once we turn away from the porn and the tabloid stuff, we can start to make great strides. In the suburbs, once we screw the cap back on the whiskey bottle, and leave the cocaine snorting, we might find more fruitful things to do. The greatest resource is us. And it is possible that given the changes currently underway in the real world, people can change just as rapidly. We need to, we have to.

I am. I am losing weight, getting fitter - amongst other changes. I'm very careful now what I eat, what I put into my body. You can make changes too.

Batman isn't real, but in Barrack Obama we might our Dark Knight, and ultimately a hero to face our fears with us. We have turned that corner. From looking away, to starting into the belly of the dark alley. It is time now to take a few steps in the right direction.

Obama Picks ‘The Dark Knight’ as Running Mate