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Among many of my friends I'm seeing calls to become more politically active, to stay involved. For this I'm thankful, because it is what's needed if there's any hope for this country.
Part of what's getting me down though is that I have been politically active for almost 20 years now, both within and outside the Democratic party. This election is by far the most energized, most activist, most unified, and best funded that I've ever seen the Democratic party and we not only lost we got trounced. I'm not sure what more we can do. We did get 4 million more votes than last time, but Bush got 9 million more - their side is simply better at getting their people to vote. What's going to get more Democrats to vote short of stormtroopers pounding on their door, at which point it will be too late? And to the current voters - they've said loud and clear that they're more worried about whether gays are allowed to marry than they are about their own jobs - I just don't know what to say to that.
Ah well. To show I've not totally given up here's some inspiration from Middle-Earth:
Frodo : I can't do this Sam.
Sam : I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo : What are we holding on to Sam?
Sam : That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.
and I'm highly amused by Marry an American - coalition of the willing indeed.
Part of what's getting me down though is that I have been politically active for almost 20 years now, both within and outside the Democratic party. This election is by far the most energized, most activist, most unified, and best funded that I've ever seen the Democratic party and we not only lost we got trounced. I'm not sure what more we can do. We did get 4 million more votes than last time, but Bush got 9 million more - their side is simply better at getting their people to vote. What's going to get more Democrats to vote short of stormtroopers pounding on their door, at which point it will be too late? And to the current voters - they've said loud and clear that they're more worried about whether gays are allowed to marry than they are about their own jobs - I just don't know what to say to that.
Ah well. To show I've not totally given up here's some inspiration from Middle-Earth:
Frodo : I can't do this Sam.
Sam : I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo : What are we holding on to Sam?
Sam : That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.
and I'm highly amused by Marry an American - coalition of the willing indeed.