Voting and the Aftermath; Stony Sleep

[ase]

Yesterday I voted at 2:30 in the afternoon of an unseasonably warm day. I left the hoodie at home (see comments on unseasonable weather) and missed some really long lines; it took longer to make this icon than to bike to the polls and cast my ballot on one of the notorious Diebold machines. (If I voted in a swing state, I'd be expressing grave misgivings, but I don't. Actually, Maryland going Republican would probably be an excellent piece of evidence in favor of the Apocalypse hacking.) So I've secured my whining rights, which I'm planning to bank as smackdown points when people get too crazy.

Actually, I think I'm going to spend them right now.

If you're that upset about Bush's re-election, I strongly suggest volunteering your time and money for the candidates and party (or parties) of your choice. If you think there's been electoral fraud, volunteer for your local elections committees and lobby for election reform. My mother may be crazy, but she has two sayings that are very applicable here: "put your money where your mouth is," and, "lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Republicans are not evil incarnate, people. They're not necessarily stupid or blind either. Please don't ever suggest that, because my very bright and admirably self-possessed sister is one. Maybe they didn't vote for Bush. Maybe they think he's the stain on their party. "Evil" isn't these people. "Evil" is the sloppiness, corruption and extreme polarization the Republicans and Democrats are capable of. The major difference I saw between the two candidates this election is that one of them sidestepped more deviously. "Who is less blatant in their evasions" is not a good criteria for picking Presidents, in my opinion. So please don't tar every person who disagrees with your political stance with the same brush. I know a number of liberals who I want to beg to please not be on my side, and a number of conservatives who I rather like and respect. The people I am most disappointed in are the liberals who are throwing temper tantrums (like this one!) today.

Thus endeth the rant.

I don't know how I am going to deal with what I percieve to be some serious problems with the contemporary USA, but I think compassion and reaching out to the "other side" would be a start. We are all American, people. We have profound disagreements about what that means and what it means we should do, and I'm sick of seeing our strengths as a country turned inward so we can savage each other. There must be a better way than the current divisiveness and strident voices. "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity." Think about what hedda62 is trying to do, and look at norabombay's reaction to the election, and think of Jim. Follow the links from coffee_and_ink.

I think this may be the year I join the college Democrats. Or maybe the Republicans, to figure out how they think. Either way, it means I'll be attending more obnoxiously time-sucking meetings, but... civic duty. I do not want to move to Canada, the winters would kill me.

(Is a reluctance to move patriotism? I've spent a long time cultivating my jaded and blase edge, I'd hate to lose it now. Curse you, election.)

I'm getting political in frustation. The system's not working for me, at least; it's time to fix it.

In other news, I slept terribly Sunday night, and woke up Monday morning with a sore throat. Oddly, the cold has lead to me getting more sleep than usual, because my body whacks my intentions upside the head and forces me to take some down time. This has not necessarily improved my mood.

Comments

[ase.livejournal.com]

Did you vote? If you voted you started fixing it. But like I said to weyrlady, that's the low bar. It's the minimum expectation if you really want to fix stuff. Are you taking classes this semester? Find out if your campus hosts a chapter of the college Democrats (or, if you can keep your tongue between your teeth, the college Republicans - sway the party in power from the inside and all that). You live near DC - protest! See if there's a Democratic meetup in the area. Work with your city government and learn the ropes. Follow the links I posted and see what other people are thinking of. You don't have to jump in the deep end today. You just need to start asking what you want to change and how you can best cause that to happen. This isn't going to be fast or easy. But change is going to happen, if people say they want it to. That's the only way it ever does.

Fear is not an excuse. We're all freaked. That's why we're asking what we can do. And no one's in this alone - force your friends to come with you when you do this stuff. It's more fun in groups anyway.