Tomorrow's the day. Sevcik v. Sandoval.
I don't know how to wrap my head around this at all. It's the Nevada case equivalent to Prop 8 from California that's going to US Federal Court in Las Vegas. Eight same-sex couples are suing the State of Nevada for the right to marry, arguing that the domestic partnership benefits are not the same as marriage, and that the voter-approved amendment to the Nevada Constitution violates the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. We'd like to be treated equally, not separately. And we'd like our rights back. Thanks.
But wait. The issue is not just yet another same-sex court case. It's not just yet another legal battle. No, no, no... It's sooooo much more personal. Or at least I have embedded it as that. My father is the Solicitor Attorney General for the State of Nevada. He's the one arguing for the state tomorrow. Standing up there, defending Nevada for being a goddamn bigot.
I don't even know where to begin. I'm up to my ears in daddy issues that I'll never explain on a 'public' sphere or begin to understand in my own mind. I've been angry with him probably most of my life but it's been awhile that I've felt absolutely betrayed. Betrayed and dismayed.
I know it's just his job. He pays the bills with that job. It's what got my child support check in the mail every month while I was growing up. He's one of the few guys out there who got his checks in and on time, no less. Financially he was usually there when I needed him. Got the bills paid albeit being a muscle-bound cheapskate as I got to knowing him. I totally appreciated that he works hard. He works every damn day of the week at that office. Did I mention I have daddy issues? We're not going there.
But it's also the only thing he puts his 100% into. He's a damn good lawyer. Once upon a time, I was extremely proud of him for his successes, his determination, and his convictions. As far as I can tell, it's his only conviction. I might be exposing too much on a blog in which no one reads, but who knows, the universe works in funny ways, and the wrong people read the right things in all the opportune moments, but at this rate, it doesn't matter. Nothing else phases him. He has no other convictions that I know of outside of his job. Not his house, not his dog, not his life. Just work.
So when it comes to tomorrow, I can only imagine how he works. Efficiently and tirelessly. My childhood memories of him are the few days with him a month at his office, or him reading me some book about metaphorical sheep when I was in fifth grade, or him celebrating his Supreme Court wins and seeing my grandparents drink alcohol for the first time. I know how he works.
I try to imagine him tomorrow working, and it's the only thing he loves to do. I think. I don't know. Maybe he hates it and doesn't know how to end it. Maybe he doesn't care and just trudges through the crap day in and day out on his apathy medication. But no. I imagine him exactly as he is in the courtroom. A fucking lawyer doing what he does. And he does it fucking well.
It baffles me. I imagine a movie. A movie where people pass him by on the street and there's this glaring emission, like a pop-up video, of "hey, there's that guy who prevented you from getting married next year". Yep, he's gonna be that guy who wins the case for Nevada against those fucking faggots.
I can't even focus on all the legal cases like Loving v. Virginia. I can't focus on the facts. I can't focus on the legal issue of my dad is simply defending the state for what it says on their law books. He's defending all the bigots who live in it and voted to make Nevada as hypocritically exclamatory as it is.
In Nevada, there's gamblers, lawyers, and prostitutes.
All in all, I'd make my company with the latter. The chicks come down from Mound House to Carson City to have a beer, and when it's all said and done, they're probably more wholesome and have a better story to tell than the rest of the fuckers that drop into that town. And what a state. I love Nevada. I was born there, raised there, and will probably die there. To be denied fundamental rights when the shit that is allowed there. I hate Vegas. I hate the business parks. I hate the ignoramus attitude. I hate the hate. But what can I do.
I just don't know where I sit with my pops. Can I disown him for representing the state? He's been more than supportive through all my shit. I came out to him in 2003, right before New Years, and he barely blinked. He was surprised, as I don't think he really sees anything until it slaps him in the face, but yet, there he was, he's been a staunch supporter of me and another that I definitely won't out here, even though she's done me one. He hasn't been the best with my career choices, my life choices, whatever. But I love him. I figure he loves me, I know he loves me, even though he doesn't know how to say it or express it (goddamn Baptists, what the fuck did you do to us), and we don't know how to even communicate anymore.
Yet, is there no 'conflict of interest' clause that he can get himself out of? Can he seriously represent Nevada against Lambda and not think twice about what he's doing? Can he honestly stand up there and say these are the reasons that my daughter, my sister, my cousin, my (fill in the blank) should not be able to marry in this state (that he so obviously loves)? The meds must be strong. It just makes me ill. I've been angry with him but it's been a long ass time since I've felt this betrayed.
Tomorrow is the day. I doubt it'll be the last. We're all still waiting for it to move its way up to the Supreme Court, but regardless, he wins... There ain't getting married in my own home state for a long while. And he's an exceptional lawyer. I have no doubt in his abilities. I wonder how he hopes it goes. I wonder ten years down the road, I go home with my girlfriend and I'm approaching 40 and I still can't get married. I wonder if I'll be able to look him in the eye and forgive him at that next Thanksgiving dinner. You represent the fucking bigots...
FUUUuuuuuuuck.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Your War Is Next
In a world full of perceptions and point of view, there are no clear delineations of good and evil, right and wrong. Lines may be drawn for taking sides but in war, there is no winning side or losing side. We all lose. We all suffer. We all believe in what we're fighting for and we all have reasons for believing the way we do. These are just people. We're all just people. People just trying to make it day by day, the only way we know how. It's too bad the effects of war aren't more tangible in our own waking lives. Maybe we'd think more about the ultimate costs of heavy artillery in countries far, far away in which the majority of our own tax paying (and war funding) populace can't find on a map. Or maybe we'd realize the fragility of life and appreciate the simple details within.
With that said, from my own standpoint, it doesn't mean I support the Taliban or accept their ultra-conservative and often violent traditions. Anything but. Their 12th century approach to religion and culture is mindblowing. Burqas and stoning, music is forbidden, girls cannot go to school, and yet they can assimilate technology enough to fly planes into buildings... Yes, it is backwards, hypocritical, and morally wrong. But how many things in our own culture can that be said about? Disagree? Argue with me. However, regardless of how you view anyone's culture, bombing it to smithereens doesn't teach them anyone about democracy or human rights. Instead, it reinforces their hatred and their misconceptions about the 'good' side of American culture. Without education and a little bit of compassion, there is no breaching the barrier of miscommunication, distrust, and a lot of bad history. There must be a new line drawn. We either continue to play these war games of avenging the cycle of atrocities, (to which our 21st century approach is no different than our own 12th century, now just revamped with titanium and computer chips), or we stop playing these ridiculous games (anyone ever realize the irony of the card game 'War'?) and take to a new level of existence.
Everyone knows the quote about 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind' but how many of us actually believe in it? Pretty soon, we'll all just be stumbling around in the dark together, punching and screaming at each other, not realizing we just added yet another stark similarity between us. I don't know what the answer is. I know we've made promises, and we're breaking them. Seems like it's a losin' either way. We got ourselves in this mess and now we can't get out. Anyone notice the recent mile marker that this is the longest American war yet? I mean, I know the majority of us on Facebook weren't alive during Vietnam, but shit, we're going for the long haul in the Middle East and we aint even protesting anymore. No one cares so long as it doesn't interfere with our own precious pointless lives. Even with this massive federal deficit...
The DOD requires $708 billion dollars to operate in 2011. And I guess a job is a job, even when you're getting shot down and blown up. Does OSHA know about this? The Peace Corps got $400 million in 2010. The federal budget for our failing education system is $ 78 billion. The states are on their own. So how does our world work where America, the land of the free and the brave, spends more money on blowing up the world than it does fixing its own problems? Check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures Make your own conclusions. I find it odd that we can't find more constructive ways of spending tax dollars. You know, like... convincing people we're really not that bad.
I know we have schools and hospitals to rebuild in both Afghanistan and Iraq since we're the ones who tore em down. We have a new government to build (is that odd or is that just me?). We're training the new non-Taliban military. The women and children are taking back their lives. Villages of people enjoying music and dance again. But I also know we're not winning the 'war'. What does war mean anyway? There aint no front-lines anymore. There's drones and ambushes. Faceless no-name bodies, and its just another casualty of what? What are we fighting for again? Opium is at its highest level of production and usage in Afghanistan. New recruits and supplies are steadily flowing over the border from so-called allies. Bodybags with our sons and daughters are still being shipped back to our hometowns. We let the parents mourn while we send freshies back over. We throw tax money at GM to reward them for fucking up and yet we can't get decent armor shields to protect the Hummers from IEDs. We're compromising on the very things we told them we wouldn't, because it's exactly why we went to Afghanistan in the first place.
Time Magazine put out an article in mid August about what happens if we leave Afghanistan, putting the emphasis mostly on what happens to the women if we leave. Interesting article if you get a chance to read. It's one of the reasons I half-heartedly supported our efforts there when we began in 2001. I mean, you know you're going in, you try to make the best of a really bad situation. That was one of the few things. There's plenty of debate about the role of democracy and women's rights. Women and girls have made major strides in gaining freedoms otherwise never granted like girls going to school or women being seen in public. Or is that true? Does it work and how long will it last? Unfortunately, as we get distracted by other wars (Iraq? Iran? Pakistan? North Korea? Libya? Sudan? Who's next?) and (as expected) lose interest in things we started and don't want to finish, details are becoming obscured. The reasons not so clear. Read!! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-chen/emtimeem-pictures-afghan_b_669862.html Even if we stuck around to help the women out, I have to ask, are we actually doing more good than bad by being there? Can we force democracy on a people who are not ready for it yet? Certainly, can we force rather than teach? Can we make them see women as equals? Can we subject a culture to our ideals when we can't uphold them ourselves? Equality? Freedom? Democracy? I'm not sure we can say we truly value those yet either.
So with all that... I don't know what is left to be said. We're in a rut? I mean, as civilized as we'd like to call ourselves, conscious beings of religious basis (God's chosen species right?), we sure have a shit load of problems to deal with. Our egos, to say the least. With all our technological advances, our ability to communicate, all our cultures and moral doctrine, we've got the world falling in on our heads with nowhere to begin. What exactly is the root of our problems? Our very nature? America has been a world power for a couple centuries now, but it can't last unless we can change. We've simply lost focus. Maybe the change needs to come from within. Power in itself... why exactly do we need to dominate and crush? Neo-colonialism has gotten us nowhere but instability with a few wealthy folks in power. The rest of us weep and sow... It's time to stop putting things in little categories, to stop taking these ridiculous sides, to stop looking for enemies within ourselves. It's time to accept that we're all in this together on this tiny speck of nothing floating in space. This is all there is and this is all we have...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot
With that said, from my own standpoint, it doesn't mean I support the Taliban or accept their ultra-conservative and often violent traditions. Anything but. Their 12th century approach to religion and culture is mindblowing. Burqas and stoning, music is forbidden, girls cannot go to school, and yet they can assimilate technology enough to fly planes into buildings... Yes, it is backwards, hypocritical, and morally wrong. But how many things in our own culture can that be said about? Disagree? Argue with me. However, regardless of how you view anyone's culture, bombing it to smithereens doesn't teach them anyone about democracy or human rights. Instead, it reinforces their hatred and their misconceptions about the 'good' side of American culture. Without education and a little bit of compassion, there is no breaching the barrier of miscommunication, distrust, and a lot of bad history. There must be a new line drawn. We either continue to play these war games of avenging the cycle of atrocities, (to which our 21st century approach is no different than our own 12th century, now just revamped with titanium and computer chips), or we stop playing these ridiculous games (anyone ever realize the irony of the card game 'War'?) and take to a new level of existence.
Everyone knows the quote about 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind' but how many of us actually believe in it? Pretty soon, we'll all just be stumbling around in the dark together, punching and screaming at each other, not realizing we just added yet another stark similarity between us. I don't know what the answer is. I know we've made promises, and we're breaking them. Seems like it's a losin' either way. We got ourselves in this mess and now we can't get out. Anyone notice the recent mile marker that this is the longest American war yet? I mean, I know the majority of us on Facebook weren't alive during Vietnam, but shit, we're going for the long haul in the Middle East and we aint even protesting anymore. No one cares so long as it doesn't interfere with our own precious pointless lives. Even with this massive federal deficit...
The DOD requires $708 billion dollars to operate in 2011. And I guess a job is a job, even when you're getting shot down and blown up. Does OSHA know about this? The Peace Corps got $400 million in 2010. The federal budget for our failing education system is $ 78 billion. The states are on their own. So how does our world work where America, the land of the free and the brave, spends more money on blowing up the world than it does fixing its own problems? Check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures Make your own conclusions. I find it odd that we can't find more constructive ways of spending tax dollars. You know, like... convincing people we're really not that bad.
I know we have schools and hospitals to rebuild in both Afghanistan and Iraq since we're the ones who tore em down. We have a new government to build (is that odd or is that just me?). We're training the new non-Taliban military. The women and children are taking back their lives. Villages of people enjoying music and dance again. But I also know we're not winning the 'war'. What does war mean anyway? There aint no front-lines anymore. There's drones and ambushes. Faceless no-name bodies, and its just another casualty of what? What are we fighting for again? Opium is at its highest level of production and usage in Afghanistan. New recruits and supplies are steadily flowing over the border from so-called allies. Bodybags with our sons and daughters are still being shipped back to our hometowns. We let the parents mourn while we send freshies back over. We throw tax money at GM to reward them for fucking up and yet we can't get decent armor shields to protect the Hummers from IEDs. We're compromising on the very things we told them we wouldn't, because it's exactly why we went to Afghanistan in the first place.
Time Magazine put out an article in mid August about what happens if we leave Afghanistan, putting the emphasis mostly on what happens to the women if we leave. Interesting article if you get a chance to read. It's one of the reasons I half-heartedly supported our efforts there when we began in 2001. I mean, you know you're going in, you try to make the best of a really bad situation. That was one of the few things. There's plenty of debate about the role of democracy and women's rights. Women and girls have made major strides in gaining freedoms otherwise never granted like girls going to school or women being seen in public. Or is that true? Does it work and how long will it last? Unfortunately, as we get distracted by other wars (Iraq? Iran? Pakistan? North Korea? Libya? Sudan? Who's next?) and (as expected) lose interest in things we started and don't want to finish, details are becoming obscured. The reasons not so clear. Read!! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-chen/emtimeem-pictures-afghan_b_669862.html Even if we stuck around to help the women out, I have to ask, are we actually doing more good than bad by being there? Can we force democracy on a people who are not ready for it yet? Certainly, can we force rather than teach? Can we make them see women as equals? Can we subject a culture to our ideals when we can't uphold them ourselves? Equality? Freedom? Democracy? I'm not sure we can say we truly value those yet either.
So with all that... I don't know what is left to be said. We're in a rut? I mean, as civilized as we'd like to call ourselves, conscious beings of religious basis (God's chosen species right?), we sure have a shit load of problems to deal with. Our egos, to say the least. With all our technological advances, our ability to communicate, all our cultures and moral doctrine, we've got the world falling in on our heads with nowhere to begin. What exactly is the root of our problems? Our very nature? America has been a world power for a couple centuries now, but it can't last unless we can change. We've simply lost focus. Maybe the change needs to come from within. Power in itself... why exactly do we need to dominate and crush? Neo-colonialism has gotten us nowhere but instability with a few wealthy folks in power. The rest of us weep and sow... It's time to stop putting things in little categories, to stop taking these ridiculous sides, to stop looking for enemies within ourselves. It's time to accept that we're all in this together on this tiny speck of nothing floating in space. This is all there is and this is all we have...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A Day In The Life Of A Dog
A Day in the Life of a Dog
Does the dog reexamine his life,
wonder if humans think the way he does,
about the meaning of how we perceive
external stimuli, colors, shapes, the light
and dark, the texture of the bone,
why and how he decides where to bury it,
why he gets a bone and why it’s when,
or should he chew on it now instead;
maybe he’ll get another one sooner than later.
Does he understand rhythm or patterns,
do consequences fit in the spacing
between habits and instinct
Does he regret actions and decisions,
and cry at night about all the ‘what if’s’,
wishing he could have done better
or different. Does his morale decline
with every blow or does he wag on,
happy to wake to the next full day with food
and warm sunshine in his grassy backyard.
Does he reason why the mind destroys underwear
before it even gets to the mouth, the sacred
meaning for sharp needles in the annual visit
to the vet, or of the thermometer inserted
where he shits. Does he ponder
the evolution of his food, and how it
got to become dry little pellets that come from a bag
and why he chases squirrels and cats
or how destiny
determines the cemented cage, the anonymous
hollow barks from down the florescent hall
that leads to euthanasia and land fills
versus the grassy fields of deer and sheep,
does he believe that all the scents
before him were meant to be,
or that there is some ultimate answer
in the universe
to explain the chain attached to his neck
or the beatings he receives, or the lonesome howling
done all day in the bare dirt. Does he sit in the wind
and ask of gods, higher beings beyond the clouds
Does he feel the sun’s radiance and ask
of his bizarre attraction
to the scent of a bitch in heat two blocks down,
or of the cultural studies of patriarchy in a kennel;
does he ever examine his rabid desire
to hop the fence so he can stick his nose in her ass.
Does he ever think she’s the one,
does he think of love, being in love, the one true love
or love at first scent
and does he bemoan his existence when she leaves
after a happy day of puppy fucking.
Does he feel the need for a collective community of canine
self identity, to self-identify, to share his experience,
his worldly wisdom,
does he pass down his stories to the pups,
telling them not to waste away
their youth, to not take their short lives for granted
Does he know of death at all, or of aging, the aching joints
from arthritis and dysplasia, the longing for the past
or how quickly it all comes about, do his minutes
move slowly at first, and then faster as age progresses
Does he judge a mutt based on prestige,
the AKC badge, the merits of breeding, the ribbons,
are little dogs inferior and fat dogs stupid
Does he examine the connections of each, the philosophy
of relations between humanity and his own kind,
the history of domestication, and who is civilized
and who is owned, does he question biting the hand that feeds
and chains and beats
or does he know it’s just a matter of waiting patiently
for hundreds of years more
before they’re free and on top of things again
Does he know that his fate is up to no one,
but that he’s all on his own and that time and coincidence
dictates everything, and nothing, between the moments
of sleeping and waking
And does he know the only thing that is truly his own
are the dreams behind his eyelids and in his twitching toes?
Does the dog reexamine his life,
wonder if humans think the way he does,
about the meaning of how we perceive
external stimuli, colors, shapes, the light
and dark, the texture of the bone,
why and how he decides where to bury it,
why he gets a bone and why it’s when,
or should he chew on it now instead;
maybe he’ll get another one sooner than later.
Does he understand rhythm or patterns,
do consequences fit in the spacing
between habits and instinct
Does he regret actions and decisions,
and cry at night about all the ‘what if’s’,
wishing he could have done better
or different. Does his morale decline
with every blow or does he wag on,
happy to wake to the next full day with food
and warm sunshine in his grassy backyard.
Does he reason why the mind destroys underwear
before it even gets to the mouth, the sacred
meaning for sharp needles in the annual visit
to the vet, or of the thermometer inserted
where he shits. Does he ponder
the evolution of his food, and how it
got to become dry little pellets that come from a bag
and why he chases squirrels and cats
or how destiny
determines the cemented cage, the anonymous
hollow barks from down the florescent hall
that leads to euthanasia and land fills
versus the grassy fields of deer and sheep,
does he believe that all the scents
before him were meant to be,
or that there is some ultimate answer
in the universe
to explain the chain attached to his neck
or the beatings he receives, or the lonesome howling
done all day in the bare dirt. Does he sit in the wind
and ask of gods, higher beings beyond the clouds
Does he feel the sun’s radiance and ask
of his bizarre attraction
to the scent of a bitch in heat two blocks down,
or of the cultural studies of patriarchy in a kennel;
does he ever examine his rabid desire
to hop the fence so he can stick his nose in her ass.
Does he ever think she’s the one,
does he think of love, being in love, the one true love
or love at first scent
and does he bemoan his existence when she leaves
after a happy day of puppy fucking.
Does he feel the need for a collective community of canine
self identity, to self-identify, to share his experience,
his worldly wisdom,
does he pass down his stories to the pups,
telling them not to waste away
their youth, to not take their short lives for granted
Does he know of death at all, or of aging, the aching joints
from arthritis and dysplasia, the longing for the past
or how quickly it all comes about, do his minutes
move slowly at first, and then faster as age progresses
Does he judge a mutt based on prestige,
the AKC badge, the merits of breeding, the ribbons,
are little dogs inferior and fat dogs stupid
Does he examine the connections of each, the philosophy
of relations between humanity and his own kind,
the history of domestication, and who is civilized
and who is owned, does he question biting the hand that feeds
and chains and beats
or does he know it’s just a matter of waiting patiently
for hundreds of years more
before they’re free and on top of things again
Does he know that his fate is up to no one,
but that he’s all on his own and that time and coincidence
dictates everything, and nothing, between the moments
of sleeping and waking
And does he know the only thing that is truly his own
are the dreams behind his eyelids and in his twitching toes?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
You can only postpone the inevitable
I voted for you cuz I believed in you
or maybe I just wanted to...
Where's that change you were talkin about?
Or were those words just liquid letters
spilling from your eloquent elastic mouth?
It's time for that progressive thought and further radical action,
action that actually screams louder than the legislative hype
that has dulled down our slow demise
of generations over time.
Not the proverbial bipartisan tea party scones
cuz you don't wanna step on impressionable toes.
Wake up. Because this is it.
The status quo doesn't flow anymore
and the centuries of lies don't jive
I dream of swimming in oil
and guns that shoot us but we don't die
I squirm about dead things floating in the ocean
and of desecrated bodies that waste away
in the western Asian sand.
Our country is unengaged
and I'm tired of being enraged about things
everyone else ignores.
You're becoming another powder wig
hiding behind this championed realpolitik
and beautifully pitched quotes.
You still won't ask the begging questions
hidden in the age long riddles
knowing the revolt they might ignite.
Corporate, or otherwise.
I know you're not the hero
we were looking to try for in ourselves
to have the jones to make right on what's righteous
but instead you will be the embodiment
of everything we failed.
This shallow republic will look to blame you
for the rotting of its soft American core
So even though it began its decay
long before you were born
it will devour you as it devours itself
choosing martyrs regardless
of monumental decisions
or your simple insignificance.
This is where we begin again.
You will either let us believe in your promise of hope
or you can give us death
because we're getting to that final moment
where that's all that's left.
or maybe I just wanted to...
Where's that change you were talkin about?
Or were those words just liquid letters
spilling from your eloquent elastic mouth?
It's time for that progressive thought and further radical action,
action that actually screams louder than the legislative hype
that has dulled down our slow demise
of generations over time.
Not the proverbial bipartisan tea party scones
cuz you don't wanna step on impressionable toes.
Wake up. Because this is it.
The status quo doesn't flow anymore
and the centuries of lies don't jive
I dream of swimming in oil
and guns that shoot us but we don't die
I squirm about dead things floating in the ocean
and of desecrated bodies that waste away
in the western Asian sand.
Our country is unengaged
and I'm tired of being enraged about things
everyone else ignores.
You're becoming another powder wig
hiding behind this championed realpolitik
and beautifully pitched quotes.
You still won't ask the begging questions
hidden in the age long riddles
knowing the revolt they might ignite.
Corporate, or otherwise.
I know you're not the hero
we were looking to try for in ourselves
to have the jones to make right on what's righteous
but instead you will be the embodiment
of everything we failed.
This shallow republic will look to blame you
for the rotting of its soft American core
So even though it began its decay
long before you were born
it will devour you as it devours itself
choosing martyrs regardless
of monumental decisions
or your simple insignificance.
This is where we begin again.
You will either let us believe in your promise of hope
or you can give us death
because we're getting to that final moment
where that's all that's left.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
And It's Yours For The Taking
It’s upwards girl
and you know where to
Remember the valley fog
in September
creeping in with the rivers
translucent and cold
while we drift asleep
beneath a vast blanket
of silent cloud
swallowing the acres of time.
It lays ice on the leaves of aspen
and the weaving roots
of willow,
sinks into delicate veins
of sand and soil
bringing violent frost heaves
to unsettle the stone
that grew lazy
and content.
The fog always ascends
the sunlight burns through the layers
until remain only wisps
like tendrils of smoke, interrupted
dragon dreams by
the peaks of scrubbed hills
turning shades of auburn and gold.
The sagebrush twinkles
like fallen desert stars,
whole meadows
of rice and blue grasses shimmer
and our eyes are awash
with soft glow
in rebirth.
But it stole more
than the dense stillness
and frozen drops of dew.
You too had lifted, the distance
I cannot fathom
and I try to imagine you as
particulate matter
that will fill the seams of what broke
inside
or that you transcend barriers
of little worlds I cannot see
where the fog becomes
just a ghost
or the air
I breathe
How quickly it burns into
the day
disappearing into the quiet
but how slowly
it creeps into us,
the cracks between ancient mountains,
worn valleys and canyons
like stealth
into our unsuspecting lives,
into the crevices of topography
the abysses of memory
lingering
only long enough
to touch
the rough ridges
and let go
and you know where to
Remember the valley fog
in September
creeping in with the rivers
translucent and cold
while we drift asleep
beneath a vast blanket
of silent cloud
swallowing the acres of time.
It lays ice on the leaves of aspen
and the weaving roots
of willow,
sinks into delicate veins
of sand and soil
bringing violent frost heaves
to unsettle the stone
that grew lazy
and content.
The fog always ascends
the sunlight burns through the layers
until remain only wisps
like tendrils of smoke, interrupted
dragon dreams by
the peaks of scrubbed hills
turning shades of auburn and gold.
The sagebrush twinkles
like fallen desert stars,
whole meadows
of rice and blue grasses shimmer
and our eyes are awash
with soft glow
in rebirth.
But it stole more
than the dense stillness
and frozen drops of dew.
You too had lifted, the distance
I cannot fathom
and I try to imagine you as
particulate matter
that will fill the seams of what broke
inside
or that you transcend barriers
of little worlds I cannot see
where the fog becomes
just a ghost
or the air
I breathe
How quickly it burns into
the day
disappearing into the quiet
but how slowly
it creeps into us,
the cracks between ancient mountains,
worn valleys and canyons
like stealth
into our unsuspecting lives,
into the crevices of topography
the abysses of memory
lingering
only long enough
to touch
the rough ridges
and let go
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Practicing nonviolence
When it comes down to the thick of it all, you know what really matters? Life, and the quality of it. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't believe in religion so I don't believe there's anything else afterwards. Heaven and hell is ridiculous. If there was something, it's reincarnation or some form of disintegration of charged molecules that simply go somewhere else. Basic chemistry and biology. Thermodynamics, string theory, particulate matter, etc.
So with that in mind, I don't argue for too many things. The things that I do argue for are for those basic things: Life and the time we have here. My political charge is making sure that everyone is entitled to that liberty. I live by a code of three very broad and open ethical standards: Respect, compassion, and equality. All three are extremely interrelated and pretty much inseparable. I used to spend a lot of time getting in people's faces about my opinions. Mostly just to have an argument and to be difficult. I don't entertain myself that way anymore. About the only time I argue my opinion is when people make a point to say that others are not entitled to the same basic rights as themselves. I try to build my lifestyle choices around those three ethics, and I work very hard at adjusting my attitude and behavior to ensure that I am not a hypocrite. So with that, here goes:
We think as humans, we're civilized and conscientious animals. Supposedly, it's what distinguishes us from the rest of those other living things. That assumption obviously is also based on whatever religious protocol that our culture has been built around, ie. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. But we're not. Far from it.
I have a simple argument. Maybe it will be ruled as some sort of fallacy. I don't know. It's just a theory, and it's not my own by any means, but I'm walking hand in hand with it at the moment. If you want to get rid of violence from this world, to become truly "civilized", you need to eliminate those sources from violence stems. You can eliminate violence by eliminating the need for violence, as in the case of terrorism or barbarism. If people don't need to prove a point, to come out from beneath oppression, or because they have their basic needs fulfilled, I don't imagine they have reason to maim, torture, and kill. If everyone were happy, why would that occur?
So here's the question. At what point is it okay to inflict violence? At what point is it okay to oppress or demean a populace? Is it ever justifiable to bend the rules that we originally set for ourselves? Most of us can agree on basic human rights. But our country at the moment is trying to find some common ground on whether it's okay to torture terror suspects in Guantanamo. Throwing out the other factors like the brash politics, the research showing torture doesn't conclude to correct information, or the implication that torture further adds fuel to the terrorism fire, let's just ask ourselves of the morality. This country is also trying to determine whether certain minorities should have rights while others don't. There's fallacies everywhere you look, and if's, and's, or's, and but's are in every political comment, but one thing remains, you can't find a solid line between good or bad, right or wrong, black or white. Things are just never that simple.
But what if we could try to make it that simple? If you can't distinguish between what is okay to inflict violence against, then you have a problem. Thin lines get crossed, they get erased, or redrawn. So if you want to get rid of the thin lines, to completely get rid of lines, you need approach the problem using the basic morals and apply them broadly. If we assume that morals are the basis for our being civilized, we should not form lines in which those morals should be applied except that when our basic needs are violated: life and the quality of life. For me, it's respect, compassion, and equality. I apply that to everything, it doesn't stop with other humans, it goes further, to animals, to living things, to ecosystems, to everything in general. If I am to live an honest a morally responsible life, I respect, show compassion for, and try to bring myself as an equal to everything.
So here we are, the place where people begin to pull away, to begin closing their minds. Most people can agree to believe in all those obscure ideas like respect but not all people are willing to put respect before themselves. In the developed world, with technology and alternatives, we no longer need disrespect to live our lives in quality. We just continue to no want change.
Think about it. I'm a vegetarian for a lot of reasons but most recently, the one that seems to make more sense, though difficult to explain, is that if violence against animals is okay, then why not human beings, to the environment, to ourselves? In the states, it's okay to eat cows and chickens and pigs, but not cats and dogs and horses. In Europe, they eat horse meat. In Hindu, it's unacceptable to eat cows. The Muslims view pork as dirty and sinful. The Chinese skin dogs and put them on fur coats. Africans eat primates, animals that are 98% similar to us genetically. The New Guineans have a brain disease caused by eating human brains. Americans like to see themselves as morally superior but what's the difference? What gives? Thin lines between what animals are okay to kill and which ones aren't, based on your culture or religion, probably means you're going to find too many people who can cross the line because they didn't know it was there or they just don't care.
The same goes for violence against other human beings. The thin line between whether it's okay to kill people who kill to teach them that killing is wrong (the death penalty), and people who think others deserve it (think Rwanda, Kosovo, the Holocaust, etc.). Why is genital mutilation in Africa is unacceptable but not torturing of war criminals in Iraq? Why is the continuing violence caused by the application of Agent Orange in Vietnam and other chemicals developed by American companies such as DOW and Monsanto gone almost entirely uncriticized, but chemical warfare used on the Kurds by Saddam in the 90s was internationally frowned upon and later punished? How could anyone seriously consider the claims of American democracy when we fund terrorism in South America through our anti-drug policies, paramilitaries, and funding of WHISC/SOA? These are hypocricies created by false standards, thin lines, and gray areas. And we created them ourselves. We live with them in our everyday lives.
Wait, did I mention that there is a direct correlation between the violence to animals and the violence to humans? Check out this website: http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/understanding-the-link.html You might not realize that eating meat is violent. Or testing on animals for chemical products, or vivisection, or fur coats and leather is violence against animals. You might not think that burning rainforests, pouring concrete for parking lots, strip mines and power plants, or yes, eating meat, is violence against the environment. And most people certainly wouldn't translate that to violence against humanity and to ourselves. It's a personal view, a world view even, that it's okay to do those things. But as long as you can't firmly distinguish what is right and what is wrong... you're always going to have to make decisions on a point-by-point basis. And those decisions get made by everyone.
And the violence to ourselves... depression, anxiety, obesity, lifestyle-related diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes), insomnia, and so many other things that are being directly attributed to our own actions, and indirectly, like the chemicals in our environment that are changing our endocrine factors. I know so many people who are on some kind of medication just to keep up in this frantic rat race of life. How many women have been sexually assaulted, how many friends have inflicted injuries to themselves, how many children are stuck in front of a video game, how many men are taking Viagra? These are not healthy situations. They are the side-effects of a culture that is dying from the lack of oxygen. Our culture is victim of eating itself from within. Thin lines of trying to decide what is wrong and right and yet still keeping up with the Joneses, keeping up with Hollywood, and trying to tune out all the bad things that make us feel bad, without actually examing why and what is making us feel that way.
If you have thin lines, you're never going to stop anything based on the fragile and false standards that we set so we can tiptoe around them whenever we think they need not apply. You want to prevent violence in the world, to prevent the moral breakdown of our spirit, then as a society, we need to completely reexamine why the mistreatment and disrespect of one thing is okay while to another, it is not. Yes, it would require us to reexamine our lifestyle from the point of how we eat, to the way we build our cities, to the way we design our economies, to how we look at others and ourselves, to how we exist in the global collective, and so forth. But can you imagine the places we could go, the things we could see, the people we could be... it would truly be liberating. We just need to open our minds and our hearts.
So with that in mind, I don't argue for too many things. The things that I do argue for are for those basic things: Life and the time we have here. My political charge is making sure that everyone is entitled to that liberty. I live by a code of three very broad and open ethical standards: Respect, compassion, and equality. All three are extremely interrelated and pretty much inseparable. I used to spend a lot of time getting in people's faces about my opinions. Mostly just to have an argument and to be difficult. I don't entertain myself that way anymore. About the only time I argue my opinion is when people make a point to say that others are not entitled to the same basic rights as themselves. I try to build my lifestyle choices around those three ethics, and I work very hard at adjusting my attitude and behavior to ensure that I am not a hypocrite. So with that, here goes:
We think as humans, we're civilized and conscientious animals. Supposedly, it's what distinguishes us from the rest of those other living things. That assumption obviously is also based on whatever religious protocol that our culture has been built around, ie. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. But we're not. Far from it.
I have a simple argument. Maybe it will be ruled as some sort of fallacy. I don't know. It's just a theory, and it's not my own by any means, but I'm walking hand in hand with it at the moment. If you want to get rid of violence from this world, to become truly "civilized", you need to eliminate those sources from violence stems. You can eliminate violence by eliminating the need for violence, as in the case of terrorism or barbarism. If people don't need to prove a point, to come out from beneath oppression, or because they have their basic needs fulfilled, I don't imagine they have reason to maim, torture, and kill. If everyone were happy, why would that occur?
So here's the question. At what point is it okay to inflict violence? At what point is it okay to oppress or demean a populace? Is it ever justifiable to bend the rules that we originally set for ourselves? Most of us can agree on basic human rights. But our country at the moment is trying to find some common ground on whether it's okay to torture terror suspects in Guantanamo. Throwing out the other factors like the brash politics, the research showing torture doesn't conclude to correct information, or the implication that torture further adds fuel to the terrorism fire, let's just ask ourselves of the morality. This country is also trying to determine whether certain minorities should have rights while others don't. There's fallacies everywhere you look, and if's, and's, or's, and but's are in every political comment, but one thing remains, you can't find a solid line between good or bad, right or wrong, black or white. Things are just never that simple.
But what if we could try to make it that simple? If you can't distinguish between what is okay to inflict violence against, then you have a problem. Thin lines get crossed, they get erased, or redrawn. So if you want to get rid of the thin lines, to completely get rid of lines, you need approach the problem using the basic morals and apply them broadly. If we assume that morals are the basis for our being civilized, we should not form lines in which those morals should be applied except that when our basic needs are violated: life and the quality of life. For me, it's respect, compassion, and equality. I apply that to everything, it doesn't stop with other humans, it goes further, to animals, to living things, to ecosystems, to everything in general. If I am to live an honest a morally responsible life, I respect, show compassion for, and try to bring myself as an equal to everything.
So here we are, the place where people begin to pull away, to begin closing their minds. Most people can agree to believe in all those obscure ideas like respect but not all people are willing to put respect before themselves. In the developed world, with technology and alternatives, we no longer need disrespect to live our lives in quality. We just continue to no want change.
Think about it. I'm a vegetarian for a lot of reasons but most recently, the one that seems to make more sense, though difficult to explain, is that if violence against animals is okay, then why not human beings, to the environment, to ourselves? In the states, it's okay to eat cows and chickens and pigs, but not cats and dogs and horses. In Europe, they eat horse meat. In Hindu, it's unacceptable to eat cows. The Muslims view pork as dirty and sinful. The Chinese skin dogs and put them on fur coats. Africans eat primates, animals that are 98% similar to us genetically. The New Guineans have a brain disease caused by eating human brains. Americans like to see themselves as morally superior but what's the difference? What gives? Thin lines between what animals are okay to kill and which ones aren't, based on your culture or religion, probably means you're going to find too many people who can cross the line because they didn't know it was there or they just don't care.
The same goes for violence against other human beings. The thin line between whether it's okay to kill people who kill to teach them that killing is wrong (the death penalty), and people who think others deserve it (think Rwanda, Kosovo, the Holocaust, etc.). Why is genital mutilation in Africa is unacceptable but not torturing of war criminals in Iraq? Why is the continuing violence caused by the application of Agent Orange in Vietnam and other chemicals developed by American companies such as DOW and Monsanto gone almost entirely uncriticized, but chemical warfare used on the Kurds by Saddam in the 90s was internationally frowned upon and later punished? How could anyone seriously consider the claims of American democracy when we fund terrorism in South America through our anti-drug policies, paramilitaries, and funding of WHISC/SOA? These are hypocricies created by false standards, thin lines, and gray areas. And we created them ourselves. We live with them in our everyday lives.
Wait, did I mention that there is a direct correlation between the violence to animals and the violence to humans? Check out this website: http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/understanding-the-link.html You might not realize that eating meat is violent. Or testing on animals for chemical products, or vivisection, or fur coats and leather is violence against animals. You might not think that burning rainforests, pouring concrete for parking lots, strip mines and power plants, or yes, eating meat, is violence against the environment. And most people certainly wouldn't translate that to violence against humanity and to ourselves. It's a personal view, a world view even, that it's okay to do those things. But as long as you can't firmly distinguish what is right and what is wrong... you're always going to have to make decisions on a point-by-point basis. And those decisions get made by everyone.
And the violence to ourselves... depression, anxiety, obesity, lifestyle-related diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes), insomnia, and so many other things that are being directly attributed to our own actions, and indirectly, like the chemicals in our environment that are changing our endocrine factors. I know so many people who are on some kind of medication just to keep up in this frantic rat race of life. How many women have been sexually assaulted, how many friends have inflicted injuries to themselves, how many children are stuck in front of a video game, how many men are taking Viagra? These are not healthy situations. They are the side-effects of a culture that is dying from the lack of oxygen. Our culture is victim of eating itself from within. Thin lines of trying to decide what is wrong and right and yet still keeping up with the Joneses, keeping up with Hollywood, and trying to tune out all the bad things that make us feel bad, without actually examing why and what is making us feel that way.
If you have thin lines, you're never going to stop anything based on the fragile and false standards that we set so we can tiptoe around them whenever we think they need not apply. You want to prevent violence in the world, to prevent the moral breakdown of our spirit, then as a society, we need to completely reexamine why the mistreatment and disrespect of one thing is okay while to another, it is not. Yes, it would require us to reexamine our lifestyle from the point of how we eat, to the way we build our cities, to the way we design our economies, to how we look at others and ourselves, to how we exist in the global collective, and so forth. But can you imagine the places we could go, the things we could see, the people we could be... it would truly be liberating. We just need to open our minds and our hearts.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Night Delight
It's election night, November 4, 2008 and it's gonna be a night of phenomenal and maybe miraculous minutes. I've been waiting for this night for four years. Okay, scratch that and make that eight. Kerry didn't have a chance in hell and he wasn't gonna be anything but the ol' status quo. So I've plugged in the bunny ears to watch the news come rollin' in for the next few hours as the rest of the dominos fall. Mostly I'm just watching with arrogance to see the Republicans get their sorry asses handed back to him. As far as I can tell, Obama had the race bagged since McCain picked Palin. It was an unwise choice for McCain, and it just went downhill.
I haven't blogged in months, and certainly haven't delved into the realm of politics. I didn't pay any attention to the democratic primaries; completely missed Obama's presence in Boise, the capital of a state that otherwise never dreams in blue. He came, he won, and it was gone. It's hard being a blue girl in a red state. I was tugging for Hillary toward March or so but really didn't care. I was apathetic. It just seemed to matter that Dubya would be gone by 2009 and anyone after him would be multitudes better. It was a sigh of relief just to know that they hadn't changed the Constitution during their disastrous two run punch in our face and could then run for a third term. After watching 2000 and 2004, I wouldn't have been surprised if Americans would have voted for him again. The excuses I heard for 2004 were sickening enough. At this point, I could believe anything. Until Palin came along.
But until then, it was just too much for me to handle by the time the democratic nomination came around. I was pulling hard for an Obama/Clinton ticket early this summer but that fell in the cracks as it became ever so more obvious that this country, while it may be ready to overcome racism (or at least pretend it is), it certainly isn't over sexism. So I just kept silent for the last six months. And actually I've been saying for years since before most people had even heard of Obama, that this country would vote for a black man before a woman. Why? Because history goes in cycles and since African American men got suffrage before women of any color, it would be likely that we'd see the same thing. Somehow we are about to witness the breaking of the cycle of continued segregation through Jim Crow laws and so forth. Though, for a good discussion of the new poll tax:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/rachel-maddow-decries-lon_n_140455.html
(And while we're at it, I just need to say that Rachel Maddow is the new best thing to happen to Mainstream Media. Hottest, wittiest anchor ever. As much as I love Peter Jennings, Rachel is now my new favorite.) So it's possible we aren't avoiding the the vicious cycle of history. Rachel hit the mark, and the long lines do in fact disenfranchise the poor, the blue collared workers, the youth, and minorities. There's calls for making election day a holiday or moving election day to the weekend, but all that's in the future. All in all, it sounds like another right wing conspiracy against liberals, and in turn, against the voters of America by violating the constitution. After Florida and Ohio of the preceding election years, I think everyone was expecting something to blow. But Obama's on a roll. Even without the few voting problems in PA and NC, he's already taken on Ohio and Penn, two crucial states in the road to 270. Obama will likely blow past the 270 mark. My home state, Nevada (say that 'A' like 'apple') is finally coming to its senses and voting blue as well as my other home, Colorado, both states won in 2004 by the Bush administration. There's plenty of articles out there about how well Obama's campaign has changed the function of campaigning and fundraising but it's clear that the grassroot volunteer work and brilliant use of technology has changed everything.
If I was the teary type, I'd be crying already. At this rate, I don't give a rat's ass about what any conservative says about Obama's credidentials or his connection to people who really don't matter. I don't care anymore because I've had to listen to these same people gawk about how great Dubya was. Is. I don't know. Do these people still love Bush? I was 15 when he was voted in and I knew enough about him from TX that he's a moron. He proved me 100% correct through the last eight years. So I don't care because it's "my monkey's butt before another Republican". Literally. You pay any attention to politics in this country and abroad, and why they're important, you'd understand by now that the conservative fundamentalism that hijacked this country has nearly derailed us. Starting with the Reagan administration, we've just gone off the deep end in terms of economics, human rights, the environment, labor standards, foreign policy, civil liberties, and just about everything else Call me a socialist. I don't care. After tonight, I'm just happy to say that we're not doin this anymore.
So the world is cheering too. I know Americans don't care about what the rest of world thinks since we're all so damn superior to anyone else. But the rest of the world cares because nearly everything we do affects the rest of the world. Obviously people are paying attention.... Check out another link:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/166910/page/1
It's too bad America doesn't pay attention to what anyone thinks. It might have played some role in preventing 9/11. It might have prevented too much. People hate us and it begins to bleed through even if our colors don't. Like the rest of the Democrats and liberals in this country, the rest of the world is blissfully enjoying the departure of Bush. And tonight, we're celebrating the end of Republican chaos.
I just need to say one thing before I forget. Had McCain made it past the Bush bullshit of 2000 and had run as the GOP candidate, I think he would have done better than any of the candidates running at that time. He would have been better than Gore or Bradley, and certainly a thousand times better than Bush. I wish that our politics weren't so screwed up and that he had won in 2000 instead. We would be in a completely different world today had he made it. That said, his speech tonight was profound. It was one of the few moments where I saw the McCain that I would have voted for in 2000. I wish that man had shown through more this election. The negativity and wickedness of the new McCain just made me tired and frustrated. On a further note, I almost felt bad for Palin, teary eyed and clinging onto Todd, but mostly I'm thrilled she's taking her illiterate and ignorant ass back to her oil-backed igloo where she will hopefully be scorned and spat upon since I can't do it myself.
It's been really good to see so many people out voting this year, those that have never voted, in the huge numbers that have shown up to spend hours in line. The faces in the crowds are of just about every demographic. There's grown men crying and people hugging each other, and there's maybe not a better sign of unity and hope. Watching McCain speak to his supporters, he had boos coming from his crowd everytime he mentioned "That One". Sounded like the last two months of rallies full of people who sound like my grandmother it makes me sad. I could say that they're sore losers and while nearly everyone I knew cried in 2004, we took it in stride. My general assumptions of Republicans at this point are that they're angry, uneducated, intolerant, and scared. And tonight, a black man in the White House is probably terrifying, so while I sympathize with their fears of what is different, I don't understand and I certainly don't condone it.
So here's my first fear. I know there's people who aren't ready for an non-white man in the White House. Watching Republican hate rallies is proof enough but reports of skinheads planning assassinations are still in my thoughts. We haven't had anything since Reagan was shot but it doesn't mean the time of killing because we disagree is over. Obviously. We're still fighting wars with people we don't understand. Hell, I know plenty of people who fantasized Bush being killed in a car crash or even shot by Cheney, but then we all remembered who'd be next and the alternative was worse than what we already had. I love the fact that our 44th president is of Kenyan and Indonesian descent with an Arabic name. It's great that he's a respectful and tolerant Christian, that he's a professor, that he's a community organizer, and that he has the temperament to listen to people who are different from him and might disagree with his policies. He's young, he's in touch, and he has been able to bring people together that otherwise would never have voted together. That takes something. But it's still terrifying that there's people out there who don't think so.
After that, there's the fear that he won't live up to the hype, that he's not the messiah (I'm joking), that he'll be another dude for the status quo, that he caters too much to the center, that politics change him and not the other way around, that he has such a difficult road ahead of him that he won't be given the chance past four years if the results take longer than that to become clear. Dozens of things that could go wrong and he could fail after all this work and all this hope. But tonight is not for thinking negative thoughts like that. Tonight is too momumental and inspiring that I cannot even fathom these things happening.
It's a successful night for women as well. It ust became clear that this is also the first time we've had 17 women in the Senate. Republicans and Democrats. It's just a historical night all around. It's a historical election year. From both Hillary being the first woman to run for prez as successfully as she did, to Obama, the first African American running for the Democratic nomination, McCain coming back after his defeat in 2000 to run as the oldest presidential nominee and (God forbid) Palin being only the second woman to run for VP (after Geraldine). Nevermind that Michelle already looks perfect as first lady.
Tonight is something beautiful. Okay, I finally cried when Obama spoke in his acceptance speech. This is such a huge night that I can't even absorb the reality. It just seems so far away. 2000, 2004, I could never have imagined a day like this. I've been glued to the computer screen reading every blog, article, and endorsement, watching all the videos, the debates, the SNL skits with Tina Fey, talking to everyone, pissing off and annoying most everyone else. I voted for Nader in 2004 because I truly believe he is one of the best choices we've been had in the last fifty years along with Kucinich. But tonight, I can't even tell you how proud I am to have voted for Obama in my birth state of Nevada. And we won. We really freaking won. What a beautiful night.
I haven't blogged in months, and certainly haven't delved into the realm of politics. I didn't pay any attention to the democratic primaries; completely missed Obama's presence in Boise, the capital of a state that otherwise never dreams in blue. He came, he won, and it was gone. It's hard being a blue girl in a red state. I was tugging for Hillary toward March or so but really didn't care. I was apathetic. It just seemed to matter that Dubya would be gone by 2009 and anyone after him would be multitudes better. It was a sigh of relief just to know that they hadn't changed the Constitution during their disastrous two run punch in our face and could then run for a third term. After watching 2000 and 2004, I wouldn't have been surprised if Americans would have voted for him again. The excuses I heard for 2004 were sickening enough. At this point, I could believe anything. Until Palin came along.
But until then, it was just too much for me to handle by the time the democratic nomination came around. I was pulling hard for an Obama/Clinton ticket early this summer but that fell in the cracks as it became ever so more obvious that this country, while it may be ready to overcome racism (or at least pretend it is), it certainly isn't over sexism. So I just kept silent for the last six months. And actually I've been saying for years since before most people had even heard of Obama, that this country would vote for a black man before a woman. Why? Because history goes in cycles and since African American men got suffrage before women of any color, it would be likely that we'd see the same thing. Somehow we are about to witness the breaking of the cycle of continued segregation through Jim Crow laws and so forth. Though, for a good discussion of the new poll tax:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/rachel-maddow-decries-lon_n_140455.html
(And while we're at it, I just need to say that Rachel Maddow is the new best thing to happen to Mainstream Media. Hottest, wittiest anchor ever. As much as I love Peter Jennings, Rachel is now my new favorite.) So it's possible we aren't avoiding the the vicious cycle of history. Rachel hit the mark, and the long lines do in fact disenfranchise the poor, the blue collared workers, the youth, and minorities. There's calls for making election day a holiday or moving election day to the weekend, but all that's in the future. All in all, it sounds like another right wing conspiracy against liberals, and in turn, against the voters of America by violating the constitution. After Florida and Ohio of the preceding election years, I think everyone was expecting something to blow. But Obama's on a roll. Even without the few voting problems in PA and NC, he's already taken on Ohio and Penn, two crucial states in the road to 270. Obama will likely blow past the 270 mark. My home state, Nevada (say that 'A' like 'apple') is finally coming to its senses and voting blue as well as my other home, Colorado, both states won in 2004 by the Bush administration. There's plenty of articles out there about how well Obama's campaign has changed the function of campaigning and fundraising but it's clear that the grassroot volunteer work and brilliant use of technology has changed everything.
If I was the teary type, I'd be crying already. At this rate, I don't give a rat's ass about what any conservative says about Obama's credidentials or his connection to people who really don't matter. I don't care anymore because I've had to listen to these same people gawk about how great Dubya was. Is. I don't know. Do these people still love Bush? I was 15 when he was voted in and I knew enough about him from TX that he's a moron. He proved me 100% correct through the last eight years. So I don't care because it's "my monkey's butt before another Republican". Literally. You pay any attention to politics in this country and abroad, and why they're important, you'd understand by now that the conservative fundamentalism that hijacked this country has nearly derailed us. Starting with the Reagan administration, we've just gone off the deep end in terms of economics, human rights, the environment, labor standards, foreign policy, civil liberties, and just about everything else Call me a socialist. I don't care. After tonight, I'm just happy to say that we're not doin this anymore.
So the world is cheering too. I know Americans don't care about what the rest of world thinks since we're all so damn superior to anyone else. But the rest of the world cares because nearly everything we do affects the rest of the world. Obviously people are paying attention.... Check out another link:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/166910/page/1
It's too bad America doesn't pay attention to what anyone thinks. It might have played some role in preventing 9/11. It might have prevented too much. People hate us and it begins to bleed through even if our colors don't. Like the rest of the Democrats and liberals in this country, the rest of the world is blissfully enjoying the departure of Bush. And tonight, we're celebrating the end of Republican chaos.
I just need to say one thing before I forget. Had McCain made it past the Bush bullshit of 2000 and had run as the GOP candidate, I think he would have done better than any of the candidates running at that time. He would have been better than Gore or Bradley, and certainly a thousand times better than Bush. I wish that our politics weren't so screwed up and that he had won in 2000 instead. We would be in a completely different world today had he made it. That said, his speech tonight was profound. It was one of the few moments where I saw the McCain that I would have voted for in 2000. I wish that man had shown through more this election. The negativity and wickedness of the new McCain just made me tired and frustrated. On a further note, I almost felt bad for Palin, teary eyed and clinging onto Todd, but mostly I'm thrilled she's taking her illiterate and ignorant ass back to her oil-backed igloo where she will hopefully be scorned and spat upon since I can't do it myself.
It's been really good to see so many people out voting this year, those that have never voted, in the huge numbers that have shown up to spend hours in line. The faces in the crowds are of just about every demographic. There's grown men crying and people hugging each other, and there's maybe not a better sign of unity and hope. Watching McCain speak to his supporters, he had boos coming from his crowd everytime he mentioned "That One". Sounded like the last two months of rallies full of people who sound like my grandmother it makes me sad. I could say that they're sore losers and while nearly everyone I knew cried in 2004, we took it in stride. My general assumptions of Republicans at this point are that they're angry, uneducated, intolerant, and scared. And tonight, a black man in the White House is probably terrifying, so while I sympathize with their fears of what is different, I don't understand and I certainly don't condone it.
So here's my first fear. I know there's people who aren't ready for an non-white man in the White House. Watching Republican hate rallies is proof enough but reports of skinheads planning assassinations are still in my thoughts. We haven't had anything since Reagan was shot but it doesn't mean the time of killing because we disagree is over. Obviously. We're still fighting wars with people we don't understand. Hell, I know plenty of people who fantasized Bush being killed in a car crash or even shot by Cheney, but then we all remembered who'd be next and the alternative was worse than what we already had. I love the fact that our 44th president is of Kenyan and Indonesian descent with an Arabic name. It's great that he's a respectful and tolerant Christian, that he's a professor, that he's a community organizer, and that he has the temperament to listen to people who are different from him and might disagree with his policies. He's young, he's in touch, and he has been able to bring people together that otherwise would never have voted together. That takes something. But it's still terrifying that there's people out there who don't think so.
After that, there's the fear that he won't live up to the hype, that he's not the messiah (I'm joking), that he'll be another dude for the status quo, that he caters too much to the center, that politics change him and not the other way around, that he has such a difficult road ahead of him that he won't be given the chance past four years if the results take longer than that to become clear. Dozens of things that could go wrong and he could fail after all this work and all this hope. But tonight is not for thinking negative thoughts like that. Tonight is too momumental and inspiring that I cannot even fathom these things happening.
It's a successful night for women as well. It ust became clear that this is also the first time we've had 17 women in the Senate. Republicans and Democrats. It's just a historical night all around. It's a historical election year. From both Hillary being the first woman to run for prez as successfully as she did, to Obama, the first African American running for the Democratic nomination, McCain coming back after his defeat in 2000 to run as the oldest presidential nominee and (God forbid) Palin being only the second woman to run for VP (after Geraldine). Nevermind that Michelle already looks perfect as first lady.
Tonight is something beautiful. Okay, I finally cried when Obama spoke in his acceptance speech. This is such a huge night that I can't even absorb the reality. It just seems so far away. 2000, 2004, I could never have imagined a day like this. I've been glued to the computer screen reading every blog, article, and endorsement, watching all the videos, the debates, the SNL skits with Tina Fey, talking to everyone, pissing off and annoying most everyone else. I voted for Nader in 2004 because I truly believe he is one of the best choices we've been had in the last fifty years along with Kucinich. But tonight, I can't even tell you how proud I am to have voted for Obama in my birth state of Nevada. And we won. We really freaking won. What a beautiful night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)