"I don't know. I was kind of disappointed because there wasn't much substance to what he was saying. It was more like a pep rally than the speech I was expecting."

My friend said something like this about Barack Obama when the then-Democratic presidential contender came to campus in the spring of 2007. The hottest new member of Congress seemed to have charmed most of the Dartmouth crowd, but my friend and I were not really impressed. Since then, I have heard people jokingly profess their love for Obama, compare him to JFK (in sentences involving the words "youth" and "charisma"), express support because he is "so cool," blatantly turn a blind eye to his lack of experience, and advocate the "change" and glorious world that he would supposedly bring upon being elected.

Every time I passed the Obama signs on dorm windows, the stickers on the laptops, or the buttons on the backpacks, I wondered what these people had supported first: Obama's idealistic visions or his policies. Every time Obama criticized John McCain (and George Bush) during the presidential debates, I wondered what exactly Obama supporters at Dartmouth expected to gain from his election.

Change? Hope? The Anti-Bush?

Whatever "it" may be, it's certainly a world away from our current situation. Between the war in Iraq, the threat of terrorism, the financial crisis, rising energy costs, global climate change, and questionable social security, it's starting to feel like we have Everything But the Apocalypse. No wonder people want some change.

But wait a minute. Do Dartmouth students really think that casting a vote for Barack Obama on November 4th will change the world (assuming that he is elected)? Quick recap: we want change, but all we're going to do is to take 30 minutes out of a day to vote, and if Obama is elected, he'll singlehandedly change the world for us!

The greatest irony to this optimism is the cynicism today's college students have about the world. Perhaps our spirits have been defeated by the overwhelming assurance that the princess is not, actually, going to live happily ever after; maybe we've stopped appreciating the privileges we have because we didn't have to spill blood to gain them. Our generation, so far, has not been able to start a movement to express our grievances like the Vietnam generation did, even though we are going to inherit a world that is boiling over with serious problems. We complain a little and do essentially nothing. After all, there's only so much one person can do, right?

And yet, despite this cynicism, many college students believe that electing Barack Obama will bring change - whatever that's supposed to mean. Elect Obama, and "change" will come on a silver platter.

Obama supporters may refute this argument claiming that his campaign has never been about Obama himself but about his ability to inspire confidence in the people to bring about change. OK. So what have they done so far to "change" America other than to express their support for the candidate? Why haven't we witnessed substantial movements in the public to bring change to the country? The country is facing so many issues now. If Obama was the candidate that brings change through inspiration, his supporters should already be taking action with all that inspiration, rather than waiting until January 20th, 2009.

So far, Obama has only inspired people to support him, but not as far as to take further actions to bring about "change" themselves. At least, I am not convinced that he has. Feeling inspired that you can make a difference and actually taking action are two very different matters. Obama supporters have yet to prove that the candidate's power of inspiration is not just about shouting "Yes, we can."