By Emery Eisner
The view from the tiny airplane window is peaceful: the ever-familiar patchwork quilt of land we only ever saw in classic movies as kids, slowly growing smaller and groggier as it is obscured by the clouds. But according to Delta’s Flight Tracker feature, our ground speed is lightning-fast in comparison, hovering around 400 mph. This curious trick of perception is known as relative velocity, meaning more distant objects appear to move slowly.
The same can perhaps be said of this moment in history which all of us are fortunate enough to witness. We have reached a turning point that has the potential to change all our lives forever, and certainly has the potential to shape a generation. With our nation “at the edge of a war” and with several possibilities for making history at the close of this election, it seems that there is no better time to get our boots on the ground as reporters and political scholars. It is my hope that as we work for our candidates and work for our readers we can observe our surroundings from both vantage points: amidst the fast-paced, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it atmosphere where it feels gigantic, and from the perspective of being high in the air, seeing everything happen slowly and with much needed perspective.
This election is going to be huge, there’s no question. The only thing yet to be written is our place within it, and how we can use our experiences to grow personally and change our world. The trail starts here: away we go.
Elon University - Iowa: The Trail Starts Here 