The sad state of the health care bill got you down? The inadequate results of Copenhagen have you scared for the planet? The restoration of Glass-Steagall look impossible?
Before returning to the fray, take some time this weekend to go watch Avatar and have a little awe and wonder in your life.
I just got back from the movie, and I can say that no movie has really filled me with this much delight since I saw Star Wars 32 years ago. Like that movie, it's all a bit hokey, but it's full of beauty and goodness and wonder. In the words of The New Yorker, "The movie is a blissful fantasy of a completely organic life".
Hey, it even has a stridently progressive, anti-corporate message. If the irony of an anti-corporate message being delivered by a huge corporate film is too much for you, you need to relax and get out more.
Besides being a good escape for a lot of us who could really use it right now, it reminds you that the good fight is worth fighting for. Human beings can be thoughtless destroyers of goodness and beauty, and they can be creators and preservers of it as well.
And most important of all, it's fun. I went with some co-workers feeling a bit depressed about the difficulties of life and what it will take for human beings to live together and the peace and harmony on this planet, and during the movie I realized it's been a long time since I've had some pure joy. Take some time out and experience some for yourself.