Recognize the greatness inside you

I have to confess that I’m addicted to The WB’s “Jack and Bobby,” and after only two episodes…. I have to confess that I’m addicted to The WB’s “Jack and Bobby,” and after only two episodes. I can already see it quickly following the likes of “My So-Called Life” and “Freaks and Geeks” into a one-season cancellation, despite cult uprising — it’s too intelligent to survive. The show follows two teen-age brothers growing up in contemporary America — one of whom grows up to become a visionary U.S. president. The construction of the show is ingenious, charting how one’s upbringing subtly shapes the values of future character. The tagline for the series is what hooked me from the beginning: “Would you recognize greatness if it was standing right next to you?”

It’s common for us to want to believe in destiny. The first half of Bill Clinton’s memoirs is a terrific read because it appeals to this sense. Examples of this include when Clinton’s first grade teacher told his mother that her son would grow up to become president or the infamous encounter of young Clinton and JFK in the Rose Garden.

Over the summer, I read Michael Bamberger’s “Wonderland,” which chronicles the lives of several high school seniors at a Philadelphia high school and pinpoints exactly what it is that makes high school seem like such a distinctive time in retrospect: “Is there a time when fantasy is richer? You’re old enough to see a real glimpse of your adult self, but young enough to dream. Somehow you meld the two, the glimpse and the dream.”

I remember how many conversations with friends in my class revolved around what we would make of our lives. Chris Moore would be a basketball star. Brandon Huseman’s band would go platinum. Fallon Carroll would be the first woman elected president. Now it’s only two years later, and already it seems to me that we’re all letting ourselves compromise. We used to want to take over the world and be happy — now we just want to be happy. Are we more realistic or just lazy?

I was a pretty big overachiever in high school when I didn’t have much competition, and I knew that the Rotary Club was just waiting to recognize me for it. Now that I’m adrift in a sea of more than 28,000 people who don’t care if I nap all day or not, it’s getting increasingly difficult to do anything. My apathy crept in so subtly I never noticed it.

Compare the idealism of the fictional candidate in “Jack and Bobby,” or even arguably Clinton, with our current presidential candidates — two men who once were lowly undergrads themselves. They went to more pedigreed institutions and had more affluent last names, but for the most part, were no different than the strangers sitting next to us in astronomy. And one day, someone who is currently sleeping through astronomy at Pitt, Yale or anywhere is going to announce his or her candidacy for president of the United States.

In kindergarten, we were told that we could grow up to become whatever we wanted. It’s still true. Let’s make sure we stay in touch with our friends and that we walk away from college with plenty of good memories. But don’t let the weight of our dreams crush us, whatever they may be.

Our whole lives, we have been angered about how much we were always too young to do — too young to ride the big roller coaster, too young to watch “Die Hard,” too young to drive, too young to drink. Our time is finally here. We can go off to Iraq. We can cast our ballots in November. And we can begin to build the future. In a few years, however, we will wake up to find that we are in charge. I want to make sure that I feel good about where I have ended up. I don’t think national politics is in the cards for me, but I do intend to hold on to my dreams for as long as I can.

E-mail Daron Christopher at djc14@pitt.edu.