When You're Down and Troubled

I'm writing this before the election results have come in; it's sort of a pep talk to myself, but I thought I should put it here in case others need a pep talk too. I sincerely hope all of my candidates win (!), but I'm afraid that a few of those I'm rooting for will fail to get elected. Le sigh...

I may need a few days to recover; to see that the sun does indeed rise again, and no matter what, my family and friends are still here. And I'll hear that fine refrain, "I will survive".

But back to the pep talk:

1) Your candidate may get elected. Good for you. Do not gloat.

2) Your candidate may not get elected. I'm sorry. Fire up that e-mail machine, and get ready to hold the "winner" accountable!

3) As a past candidate who thought she knew everything, and then got elected, there's an immediate, very steep learning curve for the newly elected. They will find out that they weren't so smart, and if they are wise, they will shut their mouths and start reading. Reading about budgets, laws, guidelines, chains of command, the office they are moving into. It's really all fun and games when everyone is cheering for you; when reality hits and you get your first nasty e-mail from a pissed off constituent, it's a real eye-opener. Or when you find that the law prevents you from doing something--and that law is there for a very good reason. You HAVE to know real stuff, not just sound bites, or your time in office will be every short indeed. [As an aside, if your candidate lost to a real nut-job, that nut-job will have no real clout, because really, everyone knows they're a nut-job].

4) Our new office-holders will be forced to listen to the "other side". They will have constituents to answer to, fellow office holders to get along with (even if it's just to hold the door for them), and some level of dignity to maintain. When you're forced to listen to the other side, most of the time you learn something. First you find out that things aren't just black and white. You might have your "trusted aid" whispering in your ear most of the time, but you've also got to listen to that vet who needs some help, to that constituent who has family overseas and needs to have questions answered and you're the only one they can turn to, and to those thousands and thousands of people who are in your state and district and who are now e-mailing you (see # 2) and calling you and who are telling you to LISTEN!!!

5) If your new office-holder believes in God and you don't, there's a good chance that the imaginary thing they are praying to will actually give good advice once in a while. It's the law of averages or something like that.

6) Our new office-holder will need staff. If they are in Congress, they will need lots of staff. Hopefully they will hire the most competent ones; the ones who have had some experience and who honestly believe in trying to make this country the best it can be.

7) There is another election in 2 years.

Consider This

Sometimes you can watch show after show, read endlessly, and then one soft-spoken woman drops a little bombshell of a comment--this is the one Dr. said on Rachel tonight: "Think about it. Women who have abortions are supporting motherhood."

Think about it. Peel away all your opinions, biases, and deeply held beliefs and think about what she said. Because she's right.

Women who have abortions are saying, "I cannot be a good mother at the moment. I have the utmost respect for mothers, but I cannot be one now. Maybe some day, I will be a good mother, but not now. Now I need to take care of myself."