Last week, the media gave us a nice, positive, heartwarming image to carry us all into Election Day: Republican Gov. Chris Christie standing beside the Democratic president, working together to help the Eastern seaboard rebuild from the damage of Superstorm Sandy.

Many praised Christie for his bipartisan efforts, his political courage. It was a nice image, if we confine ourselves to the political vacuum of the immediate present.

When I saw Christie and President Barack Obama standing side by side at a podium with superstorm carnage in the background, my first thought was “Wow, Chris Christie is definitely running for president in 2016, and he’s doing everything possible to make sure he won’t have to challenge an incumbent in four years.”

Then I thought: “Kevin, you’re a jerk.”

My level of jerkiness notwithstanding, it’s hard not to feel cynical going into the next four years, given where we’re at today. We’re a nation at its most divided since the time of the Civil War. The last two major catastrophes we’ve endured (9/11 and Katrina) resulted in brief moments of unity, followed by years of finger-pointed, political maneuvering and more ideological dissonance than we started with in the first place.

We’ll politicize Sandy, then tut-tut others for politicizing the tragedy, then take in political ads ad nauseam praising the nonpartisan leadership of the elected official du jour.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope this recovery effort is different, and by proxy this election as well. I hope it changes our political landscape for the better. Christie has been widely lauded for ignoring the ramifications that might accompany his decision to work with Obama — perhaps elected officials will take heart.

I’m not betting on it though.

It’d be great to be one of those people, I think, who go to political rallies with bright eyes and shining faces, gazing adoringly at a figure up on a stage who talks about returning to a simpler time. One of those people who believe wholeheartedly in what that figure has to say, and who wave a sign and chant a chant and see the dream of a better tomorrow.

But I saw the post-9/11 unity crumble and I saw the millions hoping for change in 2008 become disheartened because the president couldn’t fix all of our problems within a week. I saw a partisan Congress put up every barrier possible to prevent a new agenda, lest the other side receive any sort of credit.

Despite this, I know I won’t become one of those who scoff and shrug and throw up their hands at our political system, removing themselves from any kind of civic responsibility. Blaming our dysfunctional government on corporate personhood or the fascists on the right or the commies on the left. Rolling their eyes and saying “Why bother?”

I see a lot of people my age with that sort of blase outlook. It’s easy to see why we’d feel that way — we’ve grown up in polarizing times, where those who disagree with you aren’t just opponents, they’re the enemy. They don’t have an alternative viewpoint; they’re soldiers in Satan’s Army of Darkness.

OK, maybe “Army of Darkness” is a little strong. But you get the idea.

It’s a bit of a downer, I know. But you know what doesn’t help anyone? Snarky indifference. It’s cowardly, and it’s beneath those who call themselves Americans.

So, as we head into this next presidential term, I’m not really idealistic or optimistic, but I’m not fully embittered or jaded either. I haven’t quite given up. Is there a word for that? I don’t know.

In the meantime, all that’s left is to hope for the best, and vote.

Kevin Slack is a senior television, radio and film major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at khslack@syr.edu.

Published on November 6, 2012 at 2:59 am