Book cover: The Future Dictionary of America
The Future Dictionary of America imagines what a dictionary might look like about thirty years hence, when all or most of the world's problems are solved. Here is Sarah Vowell's entry....

Garden for Disappointed Politicians, The
Pronuciation: [th&   'gär-d&n   &v   di-s&-'point-ed   pä-l&-'ti-sh&ns] n. : Named after the sentiment of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who retreated to his New York estate, Hamilton Grange, to tinker agriculturally, concluding that a garden is a useful "refuge" for "a disappointed politician." The Garden for Disappointed Politicians was established as a public trust and public service. Before the Garden was founded, thwarted candidates for national office--dashed presidents, would-be congressmen who never were--filled the void of democratic rejection mostly pursuing unhelpful, unproductive pastimes. These men and women, unable to get cracking on their platforms, plans, contracts, visions and/or vision "things," spent the months and years after losing stewing; hogging the tee times normally available to hard-working American golfers; tramping around the lecture circuit for obscene fees; and engaging in what might be colloquially referred to as "yakking," especially after the advent of 24-hour cable television news. The Garden for Disappointed Politicians offers political losers the opportunity to do something useful and contemplative; to quietly dirty their fingernails growing organic produce and happy things like sunflowers. The Garden is situated "outside the Beltway"--way outside--in Portland, Oregon, where, thankfully, nothing ever happens except that bicycles are ridden, used books are browsed, and umbrellas are opened though jauntily so. Once a month, each gardener lovingly assembles a box of seasonal produce garnished with a bow-tied bouquet and ships it to his or her frazzled former opponent, who, buried in the demands and worries of governance is malnourished and has come to measure time not in the four seasons enjoyed by their fellow earthlings but as one of two things--"in session" or "recess." The boxes usually contain notes of neighborly encouragement such as "Good luck with the National Parks appropriations" or "It's raining again, which is good for the corn." While studies indicate that approximately half the gardeners return to campaign for office again, they do so with a peaceful sense of accomplishment, having fed themselves and their fellow citizens. Incidentally, they have also acquired a newfound understanding of the composting process and thus its metaphorical applications on Capitol Hill.

The Future Dictionary of America was conceived as a way to bring almost two hundred authors and artists together to promote progressive causes in the November 2004 election.
Book cover: The Future Dictionary of America