I haven’t been writing much about politics lately because it just depresses me. I think when the NSA thing came out, I thought, well, if they can spy on me without anyone knowing about it, then there’s nothing I can do. And there’s not much I can do about Samuel Alito either. Until the 2006 elections, I feel pretty helpless.

Geeky Boy is studying the Boston Tea Party right now and as part of that, the teacher handed out an official-looking letter that declared that lunch prices were going up and that students were no longer allowed to bring their own lunches and that backpacks would be searched to make sure no outside food was brought it. Geeky Boy handed me the letter and I feel so beaten down that I just said, okay, I guess that’s the way it’s gonna be. Geeky Boy, however, would have none of it. He said he and his classmates immediately began planning a protest. How sad is it that I can’t even get up the energy to fight the lunchroom nazis? Sigh.

Seriously, though, aside from voting people out, writing letters that may or may not be read, and staging protests that largely get ignored, what recourse do we really have to effect change. The system seems corrupt and set up in a way that blocks the average citizen from having any say. It’s run by corporate interests, most of whom are looking to make a buck and not make the world a better place.

Now I’m all depressed again. See? This is why I can’t write about this stuff.