November 4 cannot come soon enough. On this day in the near future, the people of our country will cast their votes for our next president, but the race leading up to this date is beginning to wear on our country.

Disillusioned by the propaganda that has filled the airwaves for the past six months, some of us are ready to put up our white flags and go home. The exhilaration of potential progress has faded as the sprint to the Democratic and Republican conventions has become a war of attrition, with each side deeply entrenched.

Through all of the mud slinging, our nation seems to have lost sight of what is happening. This election is the first election in 80 years that doesn’t have an incumbent vice president in the running. The presidential hopefuls may have illustrious resumes full of successful bills and hard-nosed advocacy, but they can only conjecture what they will accomplish during their time in office.

Right now, it’s plain to see there are problems in our country, from welfare to the economy to our citizens’ job security. Our nation has the opportunity to change course and make change.

There’s never been a more important time to stop all the pessimism. There will always be struggle, pain and injustice, but people forget there’s always hope.

This generation has witnessed some of the most disturbing acts of violence, from the Columbine massacre to Sept. 11, but it has also seen the best of the human spirit, like those volunteers that helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Change takes time, and everyone becomes restless when the wheels of bureaucracy stall and leave the citizens empty-handed. Yet, every four years Americans take to the polls to put their hope for change into action.

Forty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while standing on the balcony outside his motel room in Memphis. He was a purveyor of progress, and although Americans would like to believe that the country has come a long way since his time, the causes that he fought for are still relevant and crucial.

King once said, “Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.” Remember this when the glass appears to be half-empty.