I put an Obama/ Biden sign in my yard a few days ago.This morning I was doing yard work when a fellow stopped and asked where he could get one so I directed him to the Baldwin County Democratic head quarters.I suspect that people often look for signs (excuse the pun) of encouragement from like minded people when they think they are entertaining ideas that are not common place among their neighbors. Worse many people who feel outnumbered won't exercise their right to vote..We need to change that by making our support for Democratic candidates ...especially Obama, higly visible.We can in fact encourage people to vote and feel empowered.I think about the evolution of social ideas and I am confident that we here in the deep south will eventually find that our communities reflect diverse views and political ideas. The meek and resigned will speak out locally and vote. Won't it be grand to know we all have a real voice?
Oh I wrote a short little note on an index card and attached it to my sign with a clothes pin.... It stated that MCCain fought for our freedom of expression.
I am amazed at the capacity of human beings to see what they expect to see ,and to let perception cloud their judgement. I have been reading about race and the election.It just plain baffles me that prejudice can inject itself into a situation where the evidence is so clearly indicative that it is not rational to discount a person's ability ,skills ,or intent based on a lack of connection with culture and skin color.Barak Obama is a man who can move comfortably between many of our ethnic and cultural divides because his life has made it imperative that he love and respect people from many different cultural backgrounds. He has not let racial considerations limit his life so why should we limit his opportunity to serve us and use his gifts for the common good? It just seems like if we do that we sell ourselves short.
To my local Alabma Obama supporter comrades.... take heart...smile...I who rarely read the local paper read that today ,(Sunday September 28 ) the Baldwin County Democrats are hosting the grand opening of their headquarters. They will be gathered there with information and signs and such from three until five. Where you ask? That seems a good question and the answer is 559 Fairhope Avenue...its just a tiny bit past the post office if you are driving away from the library...and a wee bit before it if you are going towards the library...both library and post office are pretty easy to spot...I expect if you can get yourself in the general area you can find a cluster of cars that suggest that yes here in a red state we are tinting things purple....gently perhaps ,patiently, but it is happening.....come if you can...peace and out....
I am delighted to see some events that look promising being scheduled on the eastern shore. Check out my neighborhood and you will see what I mean. Unfortunately I must cancel the pot luck I was going to host, but knowing that there are ways we can get involved at the ready takes some of the sting out of that. The truth is there is more at stake then what is on our plates..:) .and now is the time to get involved as efficiently as possible and these events I see scheduled look like a great starting place. Also please note that there is a voter registration drive being sponsored by the Eastern Shore Democrats which is not listed as an event..... It will be held over successive days at both the USA campus and the Fairhope campus of Faulkner State Junior College. You can call:John Raby at 928-0911 hm, or 623-2707 for information about volunteering.
I am having some problems with mail delivery when I email folks in my Obama group and because of this I have no way to know if emails are received .I get delayed mail delivery messages days after emails are sent so please note the date of this post and if you do get an email about a pot luck it has been canceled.
Heres to a good debate
I am now going to go get some coffee....I really need some coffee.....
Here is to excellent debates and Barak Obama communicating powerfully what the public needs to know to help the undecided have confidence in him and our platform.
I have some family living on the coast of Texas,in Texas City . and have been distracted.The other side of Ike finds them alive and with a home ,even if their world is anything but normal. This last week has challenged my usual sense of optimism , but I find it remains, if not a bit tattered in spite of the hurricane season,and the stock market ,and what feels to be a surreal ,quirky ,and obstinate failure on the part of the media to stay focused on what matters .We have been spoon fed redundent tabloid like stories about what can only be described as mindless bickering. I appreciate the recent shift to a focus on real issues because I am convinced that Barak Obama can win on the issues. What a fine mess we will be left with after the last eight years which have been marred by corruption and ignorance seasoned with magical thinking.We need ,urgently need , the smartest people we can find ,and those invested in the common good to tackle it.
A person like myself can have difficulty processing history as it unfolds... there is nothing neat about it.In years to come this election will be written about in text books in a dry and factual manner ,as will the events surrounding it .It will be reviewed like all history through a particular point of view ,but never will it be seen again as we see it We are living it .and making it.The challenges it brings are not unlike those that the fierce summer hurricanes bring. We can't ignore them ,and must react if we want to survive and thrive. Not only must we engage our survival skills we must be of sound judgement if we are to be able to look back on this election season knowing we made the best possible decisions we could and worked hard to see that what needed to get done did.
Time(even the little bit of it we have )is on our side and truth too.Consider the very short time since Sarah Palin changed the dynamic of the race and how carefully she has been protected from too much upset, or the chance to upset their apple cart ..... This and human nature suggests people are making decisions about her based on wishful thinking and first impressions since thats about all they have had a chance to get.The public has had nineteen months to learn about Barak Obama and for millions of us he has passed the test ,,,we found a voice who represented what we hope will be our future.Had ,in all those months some scandal broke that would suggest he was an out and out liar , or had views too extreme for the mainstream he would not have made it out of the primaries. Now the woman chosen as the McCain's running mate and hailed the new face of the Republican party is given this honor without the process of challenge that comes from an extended campaign .Joe Biden has had to win elections many ,many times to remain in the Senate. She has won one major election in a conservative state,where moose hunting may be a major plus.I for one find it not.There are plenty of red flags (excuse the pun) to urge caution , to learn more , for questions to be answered about her behavior in public office ,her ability to work with people who disagree with her ,and looking way back to her school years her ability to tolerate that which does not completely suit her. At any rate people may feel quite committed but many moderates and independents- given what is at stake know they still have time to listen and learn.Moderate Republicans especially have good reason to worry that she will eventually do even more damage to their party then Bush did by moving it too far right and think twice.Most Americans do not like extreme ideology .either on the left or the right.It scares them as it should given that we are a multi plural society and we all should feel we have some representation.I am betting that they will indeed use reason to some extent. and given the privacy of the votimg boothe vote the way they feel they need to.I am an optimist and think that once the luster starts to tarnish when real questions are asked of Sarah Palin people who might be leaning her way will hesitate and even change their minds.They can also wonder why John McCain could be so eager as to put blinders on.She is President Bush on steroids.
In the meantime I am going to work on some letters to the editor ,and attempt to be heard beyond the cozy comfort of this site.I have a local group Alabamians for Obama in Fairhope and Along the Eastern Shore of Mobile bay which will be meeting in a matter of weeks ( more on that later if you are in the group ) to plan a local event of some kind.I will not get discouraged . or strident , but I will actively and publically support my candidate.
Meantime I live on the Gulf Coast ,and will probably be in Ike's cone and an of course a little distracted.I hear Mrs.Paliin will be giving an interview late next week about the time the storm makes landfall and grabs a lot of air time ,and in some cases cuts the electricity off (sigh ) a lot of news I sure wish she could muster an interview before then so we could all hear it...hmmmm? (Fat chance..her people are not stupid )
" We "in this instance refers to people who support Barak Obama (like myself ) and who live in places notable for being solidly,and I might add robustly conservative We know we are not,at this point in time going to change the way our state votes , so why get involved? why vote? why spit in the wind?
My answer is simple ,because I can think back ,and read history and consider how much has changed in society over time. Baby steps are better then standing still and inert.The progressive changesin history have always involved people willing to risk challenging the status quo around them. I firmly believe that in time regional differences may be mitigated as the internet exposes more people to a broader array of ideas.Look at the young among us and you will see people who do not follow the idealogy they grew up in blindly because for better or worse (and I think better ) the net has made the world they know expand beyond their own corner of it.The thing about living where I live is that in fact I blend right in. I am an ordinary woman living a simple life ,long married ,hard working ,mother worthy of the title and so on.... nothing about me should suggest i want to turn society on its head. Thats why when people who know me and like me discover I am a liberal Democrat it rarely costs me their friendship if indeed I have it.To listen to people here liberals are hedonistic ,self serving and without spiritual awareness....and I am actually none of that . I am always respectful ,and I never get strident when I do get into a political conversation because I know the minute I raise my voice I signal more then anger ,I signal that you are concerned that I can't communicate with words alone..Since I know better it is easy for me to talk calmly about Barak Obama and my ideals.I am quite clear about what I think justice looks like and what kind of leadership we need.It looks like Barak Obama.My hope is that if nothing else every once in awhile I give someone who diasagrees with me pause to think.
I am of course donating and to the national campaign, but Iwant to do more then vote with my dollar.
I have decided to put an Obama sticker on my car and it it gets abused I will think of that as a small price to pay to have freedom of expression and to encourage other like minded people to publically support their candidate. I will write letters to the editor of my local paper and if I meet with scorn or as is more likely to happen here am simply ignored or pitied as an ignorant fool I will remember that I know who I am and while I can sometimes make a fool of myself I can't see myself as ignorant.I will also put a sign in my yard ,defended by an ant bed ,and assume that most people here are too busy and tolerant to bother it.Hopefully too other Obama supporters here will do the same thing. The more people understand that good people can disagree ,and the more we actually talk and listen to each other the more quickly we will become a country in which sharp regional differences are not so firmly established ,and instead (even without electoral reform) more of us will be able to saythat our individual votes count.
I watched the speeches made on behalf of John McCain this evening with the same feeling I get as I look at Ike snaking across the Atlantic. Its a combination of exasperation ,resentment and determination. I feel like saying enough already. Arrogance and ignorance are at work here and should not be underestimated in their ability to create and maintain an illusion that can place us all in an even more precarious position then we find ourselves in now.That said I am confident that Barak Obama can clear away the smoke and wipe down the mirrors so we can see clearly..Speaking just about the simple matter of uniting us this election they hope to force us all to think in terms of "us" and "them " in characicature....within our own country...That is a threat to our ability to collaborate effectively and problem solve and an impedimate to progress. Pragmatically - it what it is (,down and dirty )and at this time the divide does exist..One thing we can do however is to to keep our focus on clearly defined issues and policies.Eventually ,after the election is over progress will depend on all of us seeking common ground,and eventually the public will get rightfully sick of drama that does not inform/
Palin's speech was impressive but only to the degree that it was meant to arouse strong feelings.Unlike the conversation the Democrats had with the country last week this was an invitation to an out and out brawl. While many urge Obama and Biden and all their surrogates to behave in kind I say hit them hard but please maintain your dignity.If the authentic Obama is briliant ,so be it ,its not a crime, and if he is . respectful of people he disagrees with don't suggest that restraint is a weakness... let him continue to attack ideas and not people.We need someone who can unite the country and clearly thats not something the Republicans even aspire to do.We can win on the issues and will but if we brawl we will distract the focus of voters from issues and make it about personality and perception only.That in my opinion would be a bad idea.
I watched the Republican Convention last night.It makes sense to listen carefully to what they say ,not just with the idea of refuting it ,but in the spirit of open mindedness and wishful thinking to look for common ground that can be built upon since ,as Barak Obama ,and John McCain have both stated we are all Americans. I guess its unrealistic to seek common ground now however during an election season when the emphasis is all about how one party is different from the other ,and in the case of the Republicans is supposed to be new and improved.Well there is common ground in that most of us want change, but what kind of change then beomes the next question.This year the two parties offer striking differences in where they want us to go.In the case of the Republicans I think despite the symbolic value of a female running for Vice President its backwards ,and I might add to a culture in Washington that would not be the same , but instead would create an amplified version of what we have seen.Less government is code for big business unrestrained and unaccountable.
Will McCain the reform Washington? I heard a couple of things that suggest anything but- in larger then life terms.
One theme introduced early in the evening was that "government is not a philanthropic institution" and that people who need help should look first to charity.Like they had to after Katrina I suppose.?? The idea was offered that if the wealthy and the rest of us paid less taxes ,we could best help those in need by giving our money to causes that are "close to our hearts ". Now I am all for charity, but I am also keenly aware that just like government charities do not funnel all monies they receive directly to those in need.Charity is in fact often a business and like government is and susceptible to fraud.I wonder too about what happens to people whose needs while acute are not going to garner strong giving from a public that may be disinterested.What happens when what has been referred to as "compassion fatigue "sets in ? Is there hope when needs become so widespread that no charity , or combination of private efforts can meet them?Deeply entrenched social problems need long terms solutions that may involve charity but must also involve the government. I have a son with quadriplegia and the help I get for him primarily comes from the government. When he was a cute little boy in a chair people were enamored of him ,but now that he is grown and has needs That are harder then ever to meet he no longer has cute appeal.We went once to a hurricane shelter run by an overwhelmed Red Cross and will never do that again. I frankly do not have the energy to go out and work for organizations that might help him since most of my energy goes to his care.
It was also suggested that if businesses are taxed it will impact all of us negatively.That prices will go up and jobs lost.The problem I have with that argument is that corporations are already charging more,and keeping more profits and jobs are already being outsourced.Barak Obama wants to empoer people and create American jobs in addition to making the wealthy pay their fair share.I noticed the speaker ( Fred Thompson) did not give examples of what typical CEO's earn, or how they avoid taxes.
Service to country was emphasized but framed mostly in terms of military service. The only other example of service was a firefighter whose heroic actions after a tragic bridge collapse last year were duly noted.She spoke of the power of service and its meaning to her life.I admire her but the irony of the firefighter that spoke was that she would not have had to be heroic in that horrific instance when the bridge collapsed had the government been properly funding and maintaining our aging transportation infrastructure.Whilehile service to country and each other is extremely important government has the logistical ability and financial resources,(when wasteful spending is kept in check ) to provide an essential safety net for people who need help and empowerment.
There was another predictable theme John Mc cain as a a man of unusal personal strength and great courage which can be gleaned by his behavior when he was a prisoner of war. I can recognise that he is a man of fortitude and personal courage who when he thinks he is doing the
It may be true that Sarah Palin's choice as a potential Vice President is indicative of callous calculations and poor judgment on the part of John Mc Cain but in reading the thoughts of others with cooler heads then mine, and now curbing my impulse to once again point out all that is weirdly wrong about having her in that office if John Mc Cain wins (after blogging about it...sigh ) I must conclude my reaction was predictable and an example of why this nomination was clever with way more bite then that silly effort to make Barak Obama a mere celebrity. I am almost embarrassed by my last post but given what is at stake I consider it a pretty normal reaction even if it played into thelatest strategy of the Republicans,
What they want to do is get our minds off of issues related to economics ,social justice and ending the war. Job well done, for now ,but I suspect that the continuing publically (the media knows we want to know) driven vetting of Sarah Palin -as well as the continuing frustration of the public over real issues involving economics and the war will boost Barak Obama's lead . Palin is not going to be an asset in the long run because what we learn about her will take the luster of the newness that has appeal when politics seem a deary business and her charm will begin to sound practiced to a fault, and curiosity once sated will leave most independent and undecided voters evaluating the ticket based on issues. The Democrats can win on issues.
I agree with anyone who says that as Democrats we need to shift our focus back to what our candidates have to offer....time and recent history will work for us.
We knew he needed to and would do something. Shallow attacks could not defeat substance. Ironically however personality seems to be the continued focus (rather then issues ) of the Republican strategy ,except that now instead of focusing on Obama's charisma as a character flaw ( since Obama has backed it up with sound judgment and a real plan of reform) they have decided to put a larger then life character on their ticket whom they hope will energize their base ,and appeal to women in general .and blue collar workers. It was a transparently calculated move that assumes we are sheep .We are expected to think that John Mc Cain by picking a maverick has asserted that he truly is one.Taking risks is not in itself a personality trait that means one is independent in thought or deed.We all know risk takers who have poor judgement.McCain is not a maverick but is at this time a man completely absorbed by a limited goal that excludes our common welfare.,Mrs.Palin is not a maverick eigther.She is is a feisty articulate woman but a steadfast ideologue as well and as such she can not be a true maverick since that requires flexibility in one's thinking..This is often lacking in people who are locked into an extreme and unmovable world view
I read that she sold the jet that her predecessor used to get around . A good thing to do and clever too which is I suppose not her fault. .Being outspoken and occasionally acting in a manner that speaks to our wishes for less greed on the part of our public servants does not speak fully to character however. Con artists for example often do things that are conspicuously indicative of good character but not in actuality much of a sacrifice.Inspiring trust is a skill one must have to sell ,or con ,and sometimes it is indeed earned...but gestures alone should not be taken too seriously/ The cynic that I can be is in full charge of my thinking as I say this- but driving one-self instead of being flown is not a sacrifice.It may even represent a preference.So I put the notion out there humbly , but sincerely that I am not overly impressed with this part of her bio..On a more plausible level,( that she thinks like a con artist is a stretch I admit) and too disrespectful of the good people who elected her. This train of thought exposes just how much harm our current state of the nation has done to our ability to trust those who want to serve us.Its sad really
Elections are as much about the public as they are the candidates.They are a measure of our ability to recognize blatant manipulation, sort through innuendo ,distraction ,and half truths and find in disorder some truths that we can rely on.We are charged with developing a fund of knowledge that transcends key talking points and polls and our own personal bias.I find myself disgruntled now by the inability of the media to focus on issues that are important to us., They seem instead to respond like tabloids mostly to juicy tidbits that embarrass the subject under scrutiny .The media succumbs to ratings by hyping the relentless ,and childlike emphasis on news as served up by self serving campaigns.That is news that only pretends to be news.Non issues and pseudo issues dominate the coverage.Both the candidates are wealthy enough to become too insulated from our hard truths. Both of them can be arrogant and say stupid things.Robust egos are part of the territory .Where is the news in that?Both men have faced character building challange. The question becomes how does the resulting character serve us?.Everyone has personal baggage , it is learning to make it a force for good that makes it worth carrying it from one decade to the next.Which person is most willing to learn from others? Who has made the most effort to rise above the easiest and most damaging way to gain votes?Whose campaign has made an art form of derision and shooting poisoned darts dipped in culturally loaded imagery.? The fact is that no surrogate acts in a vacuum and each candidate is personally responsible for letting untruths go unchallenged even ,and especially when they are designed to win that candidate votes.These calculated appeals to emotions such as fear and resentment hurt us all and insult us as they assume we are easily led. They must think we do not think.I do ,and not always inside the box.Our reaction to these attempts to distract us from part platform and voting records are indeed a mirror.Will we see gullible or will we see thoughtful?
Despite his lack of Washington experience , or perhaps because of it, I am convinced that Barak Obama with his intelligence ,uncorrupted insight ,and the skill set of a natural and highly intuitive leader has the ability to make good things happen..I find it odd for any politician like McCain to tout his many years in office when one considers what a royal mess the collective body that is our government has made of our economy , our foreign policy and our educational system..We owe it to ourselves to listen carefully to that which is spoken that informs us in real factual termswhat each candidate and his administration will do to deal with critical issues.
Obama's short time in office, and long history of public service has demonstrated that he will be focused ,calm and logical when dealing with problems in the public arena..He has displayed both political courage and sound judgment by voting against the war in Irag and in answering honestly difficult questions about when he thinks life begins.he had to know his answer was not the one that would be easily recieved by the audience he was addressing..He has shown a high degree of restraint in response to untruthful and emotionally laden attacks on his character and record.He chose to respond with facts not slurs of his own that can not be proven.While many council him to win at the cost of his principles his negativ ads will revolve around facts that can be substantiated.
Its been rough lately , but its going to get down dirty and mean soon and civility will rtequire effort.Those of us who are not feeling weary yet will. That said hope is quite sturdy when well nourished.My confidence in the outcome is based on the fact that we will have to look at ourselves and each other after this election as our new leadership assumes its duties and none of us wants to look up and see the same old tired look of passive acceptance looking back usw from the morning glass, as things go from bad to worse. We want instread to see a spirited and ambitious future .with a glint it its eye looking back at us and reminding us that we can change our world.
I can understand that distraction is the name of the game and that under that heading comes the onslaught of imagery and innuendo that seeks to devalue, de-claw , and decieve even as it distracts.I get that , but when it is done in as clumsy a manner as the McCain campaign did in their recent " celebrity "ad it becomes less effective then ads that exxagerate an unsavory fact.It requires that people suspend logic even as it presents itself as a caricature of everything that is wrong with politics gone negative. It takes a sleazy character we have all heard in every campaign , the nay sayer, the finger pointer , the often disgusted and indigent, sometimes cooly smug voice over and draws attention with such exaggerated features that one might find it laughable if it were not so ill formed as to inspire pity as well as derision. It reminds me a bit if a small dog barking at an individual from behind the safety of a screen doors.One knows that even if it managed to bite ,which is improbable, the bite will carry no long term consequences because in the case of the ad a think through finds it lacking muscle and its teeth entirely too small to do any damage.The argument that leaders must be nondescript and possess only modest charismafails to take into account that when mixed with good judgment the ability to inspire is e catalyst that empowers a leader to do just that ,and the answer to the question becomes of course- Obama can lead and well. This ad is a sad commentary about how poorly the people who wrote it and produced it understand nuance and how much they underestimate the ability of the American people to focus and see it for what it is which is something like a poorly worded sentences that fails to speak clearly and leaves one thinking the speaker may be confused.
Simplistic thinking is easy to follow ,and often comfortable to live with until it is faced with a situation that it can not adequately address. If one relies on such thinking at those times it is as dangerous and non productive as over thinking can be.In both cases the truth is lost ; in simplistic thinking it is burnt to a crisp by the heat of an idea fueled by impulse ,and in the latter it is obscured by self induced confusion. There are plenty of examples of both kinds of thinking when one looks at how we look at campaigns.
In the case of Senator Obama's recent trip overseas simplistic thinking wants to assert itself.He just went to strut and look Presidential. He snubbed injured soldiers and indulged his ego by addressing Europeans who think hes cool. Poppy cock. It is true he needs to impress upon the electorate that he is "presidential " and will be respected by world leaders. It is true that part of the reason he went was to communicate that he can meet with world leaders without tripping over his own feet or stepping on their toes. He did this and in the process I suspect irked many in the opposing camp who hoped he would be clumsy and look like a candidate in over his head.Instead he looked like he belongs on the world stage as well as on our national stage.
His trip had more then one purpose however and the seond one was more vita then reassuring the public .He recognized that the concern about his level of direct foriegn policy expereince might be worrisome and that he does face a learning curve.He went to learn as well as to impress. That is anything but arrogant,especially when the candidate says as much.I also wonder how anyone can suggest that our domestic concerns are not closely tied to foreign policy? We can not adequately address either domain by neglecting the other.
I have noticed that bumpers in my town while boasting of fine children , and lauding universities ,and cracking stupid jokes ,are not in large numbers going political.They will though.There will be McCain stickers and signs every where....except in my yard ,and on my car .I will be giving my bumper over to Obama ,and putting an Obama sign right in the middle of an untreated ant bed in my front yard .It may seem an odd and self involved ritual to wear your politics on your sleeve,as if somehow your opinion is vital to your neighbors and the world at large. I think however that politically active people ( especially when they are not in the business of politics, but are truly part of a grassroots movement )are vital to a process that creates communication that can inspire just as music inspires. If you are in a political minority in your area a sign expressing your views is a note that stands out and carries weight in its smallness. When you are one of a large majority the symbolic act of wearing or displaying your political choice is like a swell of the chorus.
