By Hannah Kim
Meet Phil Connors: an icy, wry weatherman reporting for a local channel. Dispatched to cover the traditional Groundhog Day festivities held every Feb. 2 since 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Phil finds himself waking up to the same date over and over again ― in the 1993 film ``Groundhog Day," that is.
In this comedy, Bill Murray plays Phil, whose life begins to parallel that of ``Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary," the town's groundhog famous for predicting the length of winter by his ability to see his own shadow. Currently archived as one of 525 films in the U.S. National Film Registry, the movie is deemed ``culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" for a good reason: it forces us to reexamine the mundanity of life and ask how we can live past Groundhog Day.
In this regard, if you're caught just drifting through another day and feel mired in limbo, then you're not alone. Every new year millions of people revamp their lives by renewing their goals and attempting real progress to no avail (think, exercise and diet). It's said that 88 percent of all resolutions end in failure; so if you've reverted back to your same old habits, don't feel too ashamed.
Jonah Lehrer, author of ``How We Decide," blames the lack of willpower on the ``cognitive load" of your prefrontal cortex. In an experiment conducted by Stanford University Professor Baba Shiv, students assigned seven digits to remember were nearly twice as likely to choose cake over fruit salad compared to students given two digits. The brain area largely responsible for willpower is so overtaxed with clutter, explains Lehrer, our brain has a difficulty processing what's good from bad. People thus give in easily to allurements or give up adding "extra" to ordinary altogether ― which is why day after day they rise-n'-shine to a rather unillustrious day.
So what shall we do? In the film, the more Phil relives the same day, the more he's compelled to become involved with other people's lives and begin to care for them. By the end of the movie, the egoistic misanthrope becomes the small town's hero. Similarly we may only start to experience newness in our lives when we jettison some of our selfish preoccupations. Once we de-clutter our brains of egocentrism and think about whom to help tomorrow, I'm willing to bet no two days will ever be identical.
Perhaps we can apply the same principles to the world of politics. One year after President Obama's inauguration, the U.S. is still fighting two wars and still has a broken healthcare system. And it's still just like current White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said back in 2004 while he was a legislator: ``Mr. Speaker, here we go again. I feel like it is Groundhog Day. ... As you know, in the movie Bill Murray's character relived the same day over and over again, and here in Congress we are doing the same."
Politicians would definitely do well to remember President Wilson's advice: ``We stand in the presence of an awakened nation, impatient of partisan make-believe." Recent Republican candidate Scott Brown's win of former Sen. Ted Kennedy's vacated seat in Massachusetts ― despite the fact only 12 percent of the liberal state's voters are registered as Republican ― conveys public frustration over heightened partisan bickering in Congress. (The healthcare bill in the House passed 220-215 with only one Republican voting with the Democrats; and 60-39 in the Senate, strictly along party lines with one Republican failing to vote.)
And frankly speaking, from where it stands, Obama's healthcare bill, dubbed ``Obamacare," is a scary d?j? vu of the failed ``Hillarycare" from 1994 ― when Republicans gained control of Congress ending all prospects of reform during Bill Clinton's presidency. Unless business as usual changes in Washington, and elected leaders listen more to the people they represent, I'm afraid Clinton's prediction that Obama's initiative ``is going to have a different ending" may prove to be mere wishful thinking, especially if the economy remains unhealthy.
Same goes for Korea. Last Friday I attended an all-day conference themed ``Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula" held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. As it was the first annual Washington forum hosted in cooperation with Korea's Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES) and University of North Korean Studies (UNKS), the line up of distinguished speakers included senior South Korean, Chinese and U.S. policymakers such as Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, plus dozens more Korea hands as panelists to discuss the status quo on the peninsula.
Right before the start of the final panel, an elderly gentleman sitting beside me asked whether I ``learned anything new." It turns out he attends such events hoping to hear ``any new news," only to return home with his expectations unmet. Indeed I am remorseful that the peace and security of the peninsula remains a stalemate with restrained optimism for the future, but dare hope the governments involved in the six-party talks will be more willing to move forward so Korea can soon live past its Groundhog Day.
Hannah Kim is a 2009 master's graduate at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, specializing in legislative affairs. She spearheaded the passage of the ``Korean War Veterans Recognition Act, U.S. Public Law 111-41," which was signed by President Obama on July 27, 2009, 56 years to the day after the Korean War Armistice was signed in 1953. She can be reached at hkim@remember727.org.