Yesterday I felt it totally…yes it was the Kerry thing and yes it drove me right to the bottom. The question is why?
I have been trying to figure out why I had this reaction on the heels of all that has gone on in this election season, which to many of us has gone on for not a few months, but over 6 years. There has been no respite or release from this in these past years, just sometimes it’s better news, but mostly it is bad news.
I guess the reason is that the recent debate over Kerry’s remarks has brought out all the rancor over 2004, with the old tales being resussiated and polished to give new breath to old saws that divide this country.
Yesterday, it became so unbearable I had to tear myself away from nonstop cable news, cspan, blogs, etc. to watch some old movies, history channel or anything else I could find to divert me.
Oh sure, I had my times when I just had to take a peek to see where the story was at the time, but all in all I tried to keep my distance. Then this morning, on my radio station that is on all night, I awoke to the discussion of Kerry and that sent me over the edge again.
Bottom line is I want this election to be over so we can get on with things, or start to fight the voting discprepancies, which are sure to come….but let the election be over, please.
On another note Dena (Sangreal79) our Iraqi friend here in Kansas on the Fullbright, had her first taste of Free Speech….seems that fundamentalist, fire and brimstone, evangelical preachers have come to U of Kansas and the result has been hilarious to hear Dena tell it and I wish she would, while knowing she doesn’t have the time, I will try to relate at least some of it.
The first travelling ‘preacher’ came a week ago, he started to speak in the central area of the school commons, spouting hate for all gays, non Christians, sex and all manner of things as you can imagine. Dena was there at the beginning sitting on a bench, trying to do a little studying and watched it unfold. Students started to gather, hastily making protest signs, bringing bags of condoms to throw into the air, bags of eggs to throw at this man, which apparently had no effect as he continued to rant. Dena’s observations were many but the primary thing she saw in the whole deal was that there was no violence, in other words, no one died.
Then Mon. there was a new preacher, this time he hated everyone and everything, including Iraqi’s and wanted them all dead, including most of the middle east it seemed. Next she saw a young woman stand up to the man in a very emotional way, tears streaming down her face as she spoke saying “how can you talk this way about Iraqi’s, and so on. Dena approached her to give her a hug and the woman was surprised until Dena spoke up and said “My name is Dena and I am from Baghdad.”
Immediately, she was welcomed and given much attention and caring. Dena in time became so emboldened she made her own poster and stood there next to the preacher man holding her protest sign…Well I cannot tell you how excited she was to have participated in her first protest, something she would have never done in Iraq. So there you are, draw your own conclusions, but I see much hope there, because as bad as it is here, as bad as it may become, it still looks like freedom to at least one person who has come here from the middle east.
So what’s on your mind, what are your thoughts about this election and are you exhausted?
HI everyone, hope all is well with all of you and soon this election will be over and we can get on with our lives….I wish!
Oh I also wanted to add this….I was talking to an old friend this morning, (while I was writing this) one that I hadn’t talked to for years and I mentioned politics and the new Kerry thing and he said, ‘what’? He hadn’t even heard about it and his father was in state politics, here in Cal. Seems he is not much interested in politics these days except for environmental issues, but I did invite him to Booman Tribune to have a look around.
Point is that I don’t think many are paying any attention to this issue or the rhetoric being bandied about. Just us political junkies!!!!
Greetings, Diane & thank you for sharing Dena’s story!
Madman has asked us recently to cite those who inspire.
Personally, I’m inspired less by individuals than by events, less on a political basis than by any assertion living heart & spirit, a willingness to show that one is truly alive, engaged, interested &’taking effect’ with intelligent consciousness. Dena’s story inspires me similarly.
As for election exhaustion: as always, balance is key. No one who recognizes their own capabilities for sustained attention will do any disservice by pulling back a bit when necessary. We all know when to do this, very instinctively. It’s the same with physical imbalances: the body informs us when it’s time to take rest & adjust one’s attentions, via illness.
I don’t yet feel election exhaustion, but I to take regular breaks & refocus my thoughts on a continual basis.
Human beings are fragile things, really. No use trying to keep pace with a machine that never rests.
typing too fast, as usual. Rewrite:
Personally, I’m inspired less by individuals than by events, less on a political basis than by any assertion ofliving heart & spirit, ..
Greetings to you as well WW…Good for you for being able to maintain the balance..I try mightily and sometimes I succeed, but damn, as others have said this election is just so important….
Best to you and hugs WW.
I don’t have election exhaustion, I have election anxiety. I have a fist balled up in the pit of my stomach. We are so close to taking both houses of Congress that I can taste it, and yet I’ve been here before and been disappointed. I am also worried about the elections functioning smoothly. I am in no mood for another Gore/Bush thing where it is past Thanksgiving before we know who won. And, yet, what better way to get public opinion on the side of fixing our electoral machinery?
That’s a heartwarming story about Dena. Good for her.
Personally, BooMan, I predict we have lots of Bush/Gore type crap to look forward to. Current media attention given to evoting ‘irregularites’ (far too little, far too late) set the stage nicely for it.
Agreed, though: any attention is better than none — but whose interests will this attention ultimately serve, in the era of The Quick Fix (see: HAVA)?
On the Dena story I forgot to add this one part, while she was standing on a bench, next to the ‘preacher man’ one of the crowd lit a cigarette and handed it to Dena. Now this is Dena who probably has never seen a woman smoke, never had a cigarette in her hand, who said to me “I could never smoke in Iraq, you have to do it in a restroom or away from people and hide it, over there and ‘here I am holding a cigarette, standing on a bench with a huge crowd around me and I didn’t know what to do.” Well the image is just too funny for me to imagine, and too astounding to her to absorb. She says she is learning more about her subject, which is American Studies, in these accidental gatherings than she has at all in her classes.
I got that same pit of the stomach feeling too Booman, btw, and the voting machines are the biggest things on my mind.
Booman, you defined it perfectly; a fist balled up in the pit of my stomach. After six years of disbelief, horror and fury at what this administration has done to our country, the threat of another 2000 selection or 2004 deception fills me with dread. All I know to do is to make more calls, ring more bells, work harder to GOTV, so Democrats win by such margins that fiddling the machines will be obvious. Sometimes I’m soaring with optimism after talking to yet another person who “used to be a Republican”, but the fist in my stomach never goes away.
I think I’m in the same boat as BooMan – nervous exhaustion. On the one hand – I’m glad I’m working hard on McCaskill’s campaign and I’m excited about her chances. On the other hand I can’t wait for the election to be over so I can stop spending my weekends and free evenings calling on total strangers begging for votes and money. And, yes, there’s an ever-growing knot in my stomach, waiting for all the things that could go wrong to go wrong. If this race doesn’t break one way or the other by election day and is still tied in popular opinion … well, let’s just say that this could be a very, very messy election. And I know this is only one election among many.
But I can’t do anything about that today except continue to work on GOTV to try to make the margin of victory as big as possible.
At this very moment I am on an election high, having just come back from voting — on a paper ballot.
Sure I wish I had some better choices, but somehow the act of voting always gets to me emotionally.
Yay, for the paper ballot, what state are you in.
New Mexico.
I am with you Di! I cannot wait to get all those negative vibes out of my house. I change the channels over and over and what do ya get? Nothing about the real issues like Iraq, healthcare and corruption, republican representatives coming on to young male pages, etc and ad nuseeum. By far the most negative campaign ads I have ever seen.
My son called this morning saying “Here we go again. They are dragging Kerry threw the mud again just like 04.” he has been so disheartened since then about politics. He has stayed away mostly. He is a voulenteer attorney though for the local DNC and other things too. He said he is so afraid we are going to lose again. Can’t blame any of us for being cynical these days can we?
Love the Dena story. Good for her. I too hope she writes about it. Tell her to enjoy that freedom as much as possible because it may not be around for too much longer.
Dena and I have had many discussions about the situation here in the uS and I have told her many times she is coming during the decline of America as we knew/know it. She says to me, “How could this happen in America”, and I say to her, “Greed and Corruption and people laziness,” just like over in Iraq, we have it here too.
Yeah the Kerry story has me down, but thankfully not many are paying attention to this crap.
I am expecting voter fraud and am prepared to deal with it, mostly because I am expecting it and have already told myself to not get too upset. Hope that holds out….aloha to you, aloha, may we meet again….hugs.
Are you ready for another train trip?
Maybe, but what about you, I only live about 2 blocks from train station…think about it!!!!! Just make a day trip and no driving, see the beautiful coast from a different view that is sooooo lovely.
I really would love to Diane but it looks like it may have to wait until after the holidays now. I will give you a call and we will see what we could work out. Have a great day. Is it chilly up there? I am freezing today!
Anytime you can sounds good, it’s a little chilly here, but it is warming up a bit. Supposed to get real hot again next week, I hear.
No, I’m not exhausted, just sick of the nasty campaigning, mostly done by the dark side. I do understand your frustration, diane. The speed and volume of available information is sometimes overwhelming, especially for those addicted to the blogs. Step away for a bit, it’s the news after election day that matters, not the seemingly endless leadup.
I am trying to step away, my new friend is TCM, and I’ve even been watching some old silent films, which are realllly bad. Some of the ones from the 40’s are quite good and stand up to time and I do enjoy imaging my parents living in that time and makes me feel closer to them, long since passed from this %^&&*#@ place.
Anyway it’s terrible to have this political addiction!
I can just imagine her face when she was handed the cig. lol Hopefully the protest bug will since its fangs in her deeply and she’ll be able to blaze a path with her unique story and struggles. She is an inspiration and a natural leader.
I’m completely tapped out with this election. I just finished filling out my mail-in ballot and plan to drop it off this afternoon but DAMN! I’m sick of the commercials. It’s out of control – from all sides.
The other day when we were talking about something that occurred with us, she said, “If I should write a book someday, can I include that.” I said, heck yes, and get started with it……another time we talked about how Iraqi’s would feel if they came here and saw what we are really like, (well you know, like some of us are) how they might change…I said, well, maybe your book could change them….she liked that idea and maybe something she never thought about, but she could really bring in some great ways, America to Iraq. I also added, make sure it’s published before you go there, to be sure they have a good reaction.
Hi Mannee, by the way, yeah I am sick of the political ads they play on the cable shows, all the free advertising especially for the really bad ones, which they show over and over.
I’m with you Diane. Having to live with mud being thrown around 24/7 gets so old.
I am watching the Today Show as I read this and they gave me an idea. They are running a contest on their web site for people to vote on the funniest, the dumbest and the most negative campaign ads. Did anyone else notice that there is one important category missing? What about a contest for our favorite ad?
I’d love to participate in something like that, but I have to go to work and don’t have time to get it started. If anyone wants to do a diary and ask folks to link to or import ads from youtube, I think it would be really interesting.
I know that here in MN, Amy Klobuchar has been doing a great job of deflecting the mud Kennedy is throwing at her, but continuing to put her message out there. I might have time later today to find some links to her stuff.
There has just got to be a better way of doing this!! But I think we need to let people know when they do it well.