VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

It's Tuesday, November 6th. Here in the US, it's Election Day. 

Whatever your political opinions, go VOTE. 

To Run or Not to Run

On my mind this week and the week past: Running for public office. I can't believe I said it out loud. I hate politics. Yeah, I see you laughing and nodding. We roll our eyes and say things like 'all politicians are liars/crooks/insert accusation du jour here'. It's sort of this decade's lawyer joke. Except that's not what I'm talking about when I say I hate politics. 

You know I'm an introvert. So when I say I loathe politics, I mean that the idea of going to meetings with people wasting time, breath, and money using too many words and hours in an attempt to manipulate me into doing what they want makes me want to stab icepicks in my ears. And maybe theirs. HATES it, my precious. 

I laugh nervously about my chances of even getting voted into anything resembling an office. I'm a Wiccan living in the south. That's a tough sell. And frankly, I'm kinda left of left. So I'd expect to get laughed right out of the polls. But eh. I've had my share of unkind rejection letters. Losing would frankly be a bit of a relief. And yet I still mull the idea of filing to run. 

Why would I entertain the thought of doing something like running for public office when I claim to hate the whole process?  ESPECIALLY the fund raising part? Because I've discovered there's something I hate even more.

Dead children. Specifically, needlessly dead children. I am sick to death of 'thoughts and prayers'. I am sick to my soul of a bunch of old guys in suits wringing their hands in front of the TV cameras only to back to jacking off the NRA in the back office with one hand and eviscerating healthcare that might treat disturbed, hurting children with the other. I'm done with them. It's clear that more and more parents in this country are also done with them.

So I don't know yet. I'm still noodling. Because it's something I *really* do not want to do. It wouldn't be a step out of my comfort zone. It would be a damned drop from orbit. In just a wing suit. Still. Were I to take that leap, it would be because James wrote an excellent position paper. And I feel like plenty of parents would resonate with a platform of:

No parent should have to drop a kid at school with the parting words: May the odds be ever in your favor.

Vote Today! (It's About More Than the President)

For all our US readers, please make sure you vote today. If you've already done so, THANK YOU. I'm not going to tell you for whom you should vote. That's not my business. I am going to remind you that your vote matters.

Federally, we have 469 seats in the US Congress that will be decided today. 34 in the Do-Nothing Senate. 435 in the Toddlers Throwing Tantrums House of Representatives. I say again, your vote matters.

If you hail from a state that made the national news for epic embarrassments in the judicial and the legislative branches: LUCKY YOU. Your vote can demonstrate your displeasure and bring back state pride by kicking the louses to the curb. Got a governor who tumbled into a time warp and forgot what the "civilized" part of "civilization" means? Your state might be one of the ones ready to wash that turd right out their collective hair in this election. (No, not all governors are up for election this year. Sorry. Some of us are still stuck with the disappointments.) Again, your vote matters.

Lastly, there are actual issues tagged on your ballot. Might be as small as granting a liquor license to the business down the street, as broad as approving a tax to improve education, or as contentious as the right to Die with Dignity. One more time, your vote matters.

Please, please, please, dear readers, if you can vote, do vote.

If you have any issues with intimidation or problems voting, contact 866-OUR-VOTE