Someone looking to analyze the importance of 2008 would have no shortage of momentous occasions to contemplate. As I did a little New Year's reflection of my own, though, it suddenly hit me that there was one event in particular that might escape the average historian's summation of the year: the end of the 50 State Quarters Program.
The finale of the 10-year program, which doled out five new state quarters every year in the order that the states were admitted to the union, received little fanfare. I, however, remember the early years.
Collecting quarters quickly became an American obsession. Companies rushed to produce state quarter books, state quarter posters and state quarter maps, with a slot for each coin. I was eight, and I would rather have gone thirsty than bought my daily carton of milk with a state that was missing from my collection. Ten years seemed like an awfully long time to wait for the last of the quarters.
But 2008 finally did come, and I went through the year oblivious to the fact that the last five quarters were being released. My ardor had long since diminished. In fact, throughout 2008 I was focused on the end of another era: The Bush years. Change was the name of the game, but not in the sense of quarters. The big news wasn't that Alaska had come up with a rocking quarter design (love the polar bear, guys), but that the Alaskan governor could see Russia from her house.
The 50 State Quarters Program began two years before Bush came to office, but with the final quarter released on Nov. 3, and the new president elected on Nov. 4, it's hard not to feel that Bush and the state quarter are symbols of the same played-out story. Both came out swinging, and to rave reviews. People gobbled up the first quarters, and for some time after Sept. 11th, Bush held the highest public approval rating in American history. Today, neither state quarters nor Bush seem to appeal much to the American people.
The thinking behind the State Quarters Program is emblematic of the Bush legacy. According to The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act, "Congress finds that it is appropriate and timely to honor the unique Federal Republic of 50 States that comprise the United States; and to promote the diffusion of knowledge among the youth of the United States about the individual states, their history and geography, and the rich diversity of the national heritage."
Lofty goals for the lowly quarter. It's hard to imagine how coins with state-inspired designs on one side could achieve such aims. I suppose that in searching for the proper slot for each quarter on my state quarter map, I may have slightly improved my knowledge of American geography. Or that flipping through my state quarter book, I might have picked up a few fun facts about each state. But in the end, it's difficult to view the program as anything more than an empty gesture -- a weak attempt at promoting patriotism without serious thought behind it.
If nothing else, the last eight years have taught us of the bankruptcy of the empty gesture. The American people have grown weary of photo ops, treaties, promises and declarations that ultimately have no bearing on reality (see: "Mission Accomplished"). We've realized that spending money is not a genuine expression of patriotism, and we've witnessed the widespread failure of America's attempts at diplomacy. No one puts much stock in the power of made-for-media peace conferences anymore.
With Barack Obama's inauguration a week away, my greatest hope for the new president is that he will bring thoughtfulness back to the American government. Bush's grand gestures and saber-rattling speeches won him popularity during the first few years of his presidency, but as the consequences of crafting policy without substance have come to bear, the American people are realizing that we have been duped. The quarters were fun, but I think we're all ready for some real change.
