Good news from UCLA. Yes, I'm taking a break from cleaning, but I'll keep this short so I don't get sucked into sitting in this chair while dust still swirls. Here's the money quote:

As more freshmen report that they discussed politics frequently as high school seniors — 33.8 percent in 2006, up from 25.5 percent in 2004 — 43.1 percent identified themselves as "middle-of-the-road," the lowest mark since first measured by the research program in 1970. Additionally, the percentage of students identifying as "liberal" (28.4 percent) is at its highest level since 1975 (30.7 percent), and those identifying as "conservative" (23.9 percent) is at its highest level in the history of the Freshman Survey, now in its 40th year.

Today's young people, of which I can't really claim to be a part of anymore, sob, are going to do what their parents couldn't quite bring themselves to do once they reached the age of suburban bliss and yuppiehood. Kids today don't hate gays, they like technology and science, and they understand that things like the environmental protection and secular government are "good things." There is always a bias in our political discourse, and it favors the elderly. But as Boomers enter their golden years, it's important to remember that in many ways, they are the last generation hostage to a lot of the ideological bullshit that plagues us so right now. Hope in the future is always a good thing, and this study gives us some.