I'm also on the wonder drug, which this time has just left me craving very greasy, bad-for-you food. That's a step up from the last time I was on the drug, and embarrassed even myself with an uncontrollable emotional outburst.
So, as I shake out the confetti and the cobwebs, I want to share a couple of thoughts. Not rabidly partisan, so they are safe to read.
- You cannot throw money at an election and expect to win. That cynical view of the American electorate was smacked down roundly this time. You must run on ideas--real ideas--and the American electorate will weigh those ideas. They deserve the chance to weigh those ideas, and if you didn't get that message in 2012, I feel very sorry for you. Corporations are NOT people--they don't go down to the polling place and vote. People do, and people were heard this time. Now, let's get Congress to work on making sure people continue to make the decisions in elections in this country.
- People voted!!!! They braved long lines, intimidation, and they voted. Even after the election was called for President Obama, people still stood in line and voted. Because they were that passionate. They felt a great need to vote.
- Even better, the youth of this country are still feeling engaged in the political process. They came back! And voted! That gives me so much hope for this country. You see, I was about 4-8 years younger than those youth in the late 60's and early 70's who were so very cynical, who believed no good came of the "sham" of voting. For years, I remained the odd-out Pollyanna, who believed you must vote, that you must make your voice heard in the ways the democratic process allowed. I can't tell you how good I feel about the upward trend in voter participation. I can't wait to see this chart updated for 2012.
- Women. Women do NOT want to fight again and again for basic human rights. Period. And, 53% of the electorate are women, so you might just want to shut up about bodies who do not "belong" to you.
Finally, and this may be totally off-subject or not (blame it on the drugs). People want--they crave--peace. In times of peace, so much more gets accomplished than in times of war. War may stimulate an economy, but the price to people, to this planet, is just too great. I do believe people would rather use their words to solve conflict, and use the money not spent on bombs and guns to educate, to feed, to clothe, to shelter, and to provide health care. Everyone wins when money is spent that way. Everyone.
Throw the ideals of peace out, and you will win every time.
But don't just take my word for it:
- Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind. -- Daisaku Ikeda
- I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- This is the irrational truth of political discourse. Public violations are far more acceptable than private ones. The political life is a willing sacrifice of its stated ideals, dignity and integrity, which it nevertheless continues to talk about. --Albert Einstein
- I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.-- Dwight D. Eisenhower
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