November 5, 2004
<sigh>
Whether it is a good idea or not, I am getting more and more involved with politics. I don’t know that you can ever really take the sting out of the kind of results that we saw this last Tuesday, but I think you can gain perspective.
Sometime in the middle of the night this last Tuesday, I started to realize it wasn’t likely going to be the result I was hoping for. I think I started off with the usual disbelief, followed by anger. Once again I wondered about the viability of Canada.
Then something happened that I’m not sure has happened before. I could feel my resolve hardening. This wasn’t anger or despair, but a renewed sense of purpose and importance.
It doesn’t matter what they say. We stood up and fought. This election was not a crushing defeat. It was a near miss! I’m not saying no mistakes were made or that we can’t do better, but I’m already sick to death of these death-knells for the Democratic Party in the mainstream media. Let me fill you in on a little something that I think a helluva lot of people have lost sight of:
Government is all about compromise
Ya know, checks and balances? We’re not voting for Prom King and Queen here. It should be less about how charismatic or attractive they are, less about how closely they line up with you on the “issues”, and more about who has the better vision. You can support a candidate that isn’t “perfect”. NONE OF US ARE.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t look for the best we can do, but stop pining for the perfect one. A third party doesn’t solve anything. It only further muddies the waters. Also, I don’t ever want to hear anyone say the Democratic Party doesn’t represent them anymore. Have you ever been to a Precinct Caucus? Do you know how the Democratic Party works? It’s the ultimate in representative politics! If 30 percent of your precinct supports Candidate A and 70 percent supports Candidate B, that’s the ratio that goes up to the next level. There is no winner take all until the National Convention. The same thing is true of the platform. So in a way you’re right. It’s not representing you because you can’t be bothered to show up and be counted. If you don’t like the way this world is why won’t you work for the change you seek?
To be continued…
