Saving the World One Prom at a Time

Yesterday, the Washington Post ran a front page story entitled "Popping the (Prom Question)." It turns out high schoolers these days are getting mighty creative with their techniques to ask out that special someone to what a friend of mine senior year called "The most important event of our high school experience." (I could name maybe half a dozen more important ones, but I didn't want to rain on her parade).

Inspired by a 2005 episode of the trend-setting cultural phenomenon that is Laguna Beach, high school kids are upping the ante big time in methods for getting a date to the dance. The article cites one guy who taped a message to the sail of his family's boat, another who hung a spray-painted sheet over a highway overpass asking the question, and yet another who bought a dozen red balloons with the lucky lady's name on them.

I'm impressed. I really am. Because all three of those examples are light years better than my awkward, non-eye contact prom proposal back in high school. I wonder, though, if this much effort goes into the prom, what do they have to do to get engaged?

Still, this creativity gives me hope that the future generation of leaders really has it together. There's not much difference between using your family's boat to get a prom date and designing an effective exit strategy for Iraq, right? I just hope by the time these kids are old enough to be running our country, we've got most of our troops out of there.