Lowered Expectations

Life is full of compromise.

My New Year's resolution was to blog thrice weekly, and not only did I not manage that, but now we're going on the thrice month without a blog post altogether. Now, one could say that's an epic failure of outstanding magnitude.

Or

One could look at what else I've been up to and think, "Good gawd, how did she manage to get any sleep at all the last three months?" Because we're heading into a huge physical move at work into a brand new facility, we've been out of town some, the Boy finished up the 9th grade which literally took a village to accomplish, we obtained and are still cozying up a 'city house' in Denton in addition to the farm where baby goats have been born, projects undertaken and my entire guinea pig breeding program re-worked. I'm also concentrating more on helping a loved one with their writing than my own writing for the foreseeable future so what I'm saying is

both the road to Hell and my life are paved with good intentions.

So the Lowered Expectation version of my utterly attainable yet just out of reach resolution is, "Hey. I'll do the best I can. You can't have everything."

And I've been thinking about that very thing as we go into another ridiculous circus of clown cars presidential election year. Because one thing that's hurt us A LOT the last two elections is the apparent loss of the American citizen's ability to compromise.

In the beginning, it's pretty easy to grab onto a candidate who embodies, nay even mirrors, all the things you personally hold near and dear and hop on that bandwagon wearing the t-shirt and grasping the bumper sticker. Then they start falling by the wayside.

At the end of it, we get to choose (realistically) from two people- two people who have made it that far by pissing off the least amount of folks in their camp and by kissing the asses of the biggest donors who pay for the ads that state that their competitor is doing the exact same thing...but in a bad way.

Here's where we SHOULD look at each one, decide which one lines up the closest with how we think our nation needs to go for the next four years and vote for that one. Not, "Hold your nose and vote the party", not, "Screw it- I'm not voting because voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil so I'm voting my conscience" which sounds better than, "I hate them both because they're not ME so I'm pouting and not voting,but I reserve the right to bitch about whoever wins".

It's not 'selling out'. It's not 'voting for the lesser of two evils'. It's making a freaking decision and compromising because you're a grown up and realize that in a country as big as ours is there isn't ONE GUY OR GAL who will go in and do ONLY what you personally want. That's toddler-think.

ANY candidate who hollers, "NO COMPROMISE" should be put in time out with no dessert and treated like the hellacious brat he/she is.

ANY candidate who vows to deny American citizens rights that other American citizens enjoy should be despised, not celebrated. *Just as a reminder- that means EVERYONE- not just everyone like YOU, because no matter how loudly you holler "BUT THEY'RE NOT REAL AMERICANS" while stuffing your fingers in your ears, it doesn't make it true. People of ALL colors, genders, orientations, political parties and religions (or NOT) are, in fact American citizens just like you. For realsies.

Here's the thing that we all should've learned in kindergarten. We don't get our way all the time. When we try to do the wrong thing by someone else, it generally comes back to bite our own ass. Our parents, our teachers and Jesus all tell us to SHARE- help the little guy, denigrate the bully.

When we took a vote on stuff in class or our friend groups, not everyone won- some people got their way and some didn't. If the winners gloated and stuck out their tongues they were told to stop being such dicks. If the losers burst into tears and ran home they were told to stop being such babies. For god's sake look around- we are an entire country of dicks and babies and we REWARD that, vote them into office and then wonder why they go to DC and do nothing but throw shit at each other like a passle of chimps.

In years past, a candidate was celebrated (and elected) if they vowed to work for ALL their constituents, not just those of their own party and if they promised to 'work across the aisle for the betterment of the entire nation'. Now that's called being a traitor, being a RINO, being a DINO. Dicks and babies rule.

We need to grow the hell up. Stop looking at a candidate and thinking, "Will he do what's best for ME?" and start thinking, "Will he do what's best for ALL Americans?"

That's not selling out, it's not lowered expectations- if anything it's the exact opposite. It's demanding of YOURSELF that you stop being selfish and acknowledge that other Americans' rights are just as valid and precious as your own and demanding that they be protected, too.

Compromise is not a four letter word. You're thinking of 'MINE'.

Spoiler Alert- The Real Winner Will Be...

Two days.

We're down to two days before the elections and the only thing I know for sure is who will be the real winners.

I know it because of what I hear people around me saying. Because of what I read, and what I see.

I know it because this country is so fragmented, so divided, so absolutely and completely exhausted from working so hard, for so little, for so long while being pummeled from all sides with the frenetic activity of an election season- a thing that may start out in fairness and nobility but that ends up inevitably like a street fight-

both combatants weary from an interminable slog of following the rules of civil engagement and finally ending up down on the ground, jabbing thumbs into eyes and biting each other in an effort to just be the last one conscious- all illusions of a fair conflict followed by an honorable victory ground into the dust they're rolling in at the end, spitting curses at each other.

I cannot remember a time when fear and Faith have played such a big role in elections- and it's the Faith that's fanning the fear- bringing God into the political process when the Founding Fathers made it very clear that God is cool if that's what you want to believe...but not to determine the laws of OUR land- because not everyone believes in the same god you do, or has the same moral codes.

But that does not make those different from you second-rate Americans who don't love this country as passionately as you do. And it for damn sure doesn't mean that those who have a different Faith than yours (or no Faith at all) do not deserve the exact same representation in the government as you do.

And it's that very vocal, very opinionated, very suspicious-of-all-things-secular-governmental group of people who will pick the REAL winners come Tuesday night.

"If Romney wins, there will be rioting in the streets- every black neighborhood in the country is going to explode into a firestorm of rage. Make sure you're prepared- with FOOD and WATER in case of power outages and with GUNS and AMMO, of course."

"If Obama wins, he will immediately enforce martial law- rounding up Christians and putting them into concentration camps. Make sure you're prepared- with FOOD and WATER to bring with you into your secret hideout where you can avoid persecution and with GUNS and AMMO, of course".

It's a fact that the sale of all survival supplies, but most of all GUNS and AMMO went through the roof after Obama was elected in '08.

See where this is going?

Come Tuesday night, we'll either have a President Romney or a President Obama.

But the REAL winners will be the sellers of survivalist crap and GUNS and AMMO- those bottom feeders who make their livings off of encouraging and exploiting the fear of people.

The NRA never had a better friend than Barack Obama.

A Brand New Day

Remember two years ago, when we got a new president and a matching House and Senate and all the conservatives howled and wailed and vowed that they'd "take back the country" in the next election...if those damn liberals didn't send it to hell in a handbasket first with their socialist communist fascist nazi-ist plans?

And from that day till last night we heard the planning, tea partying, praying, complaining, bitching, moaning as this administration tried to dig us out of the mess the previous one got us into. Nothing they did was right (pun intended) and everything they did was, unaccountably, too much AND too little.

Anything done that had any effect was "Too much intrusion and stealing our freedoms" and anything un-addressed yet was "doing nothing to help the people".

From Faux News fear-mongering to Rush Limbaugh's pompous bullshit to Glenn Beck's tears of a freedom-loving clown to that whack-job from Alaska screeching "HOWZ THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING WORKIN' FOR YA?" the entire country was pummelled with sure-fire signs of our imminent demise as the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.

But that wasn't the half of it.

Then the campaigning started.

I'm over half a century old and can't remember the last time it was proper campaign etiquette to threaten your opponent, AND your opponent's entire party AND population of constituents with actual bodily harm.

In between the vitriol were many promises and vows to "take back the country" and "undo the damage that's been done on the road to socialism".

Two years ago, the people voted against the road we had been on- one that had plunged our nation into third world status regarding accessible health care for all and worse regarding our economy and quality of life.

All the bad things were cumulative and took many years to build up, and a sensible person would see that it would take at LEAST as many years to fix it.

But people who are jobless, hungry, homeless, sick and scared, don't have any sense to spare and want so desperately to believe that someone, somewhere, somehow can fix it NOW that they laid our fragile nation back into the giant paws of the wolves.

For safe-keeping.

And the wolves licked their chops and said "Don't worry the hair of your chinny chin chin- I'll take good care of this...just like I promised".

So...what're they planning on cutting out of the national budget to FIX it? From their campaign 'promises' looks like Social Security, VA benefits, Medicare, Medicaid...if the tea party has their way "government" will be OUT of our lives to leave us the hell alone- without schools, or roads, or any sort of unified infrastructure or protection- we'll be 50 happy little autonomous islands, free to frolic to the will of whatever corporations buy the state governments.

Here's the one thing that keeps me from going batshit insane at this point-

They can't.

They can't FIX it (even their dubious version of fixing it) in 2 years any more than the democrats could.

Because of the checks and balances inherent in our government (designed by some very wise men- the same men who fought against a national religion- even the Christians among them) change comes slowly and carefully and cumbersomely to us.

So today is a brand new day. Not a substantially different day. Not, as the republicans were crowing, the day after the democratic bloodbath when they would swoop into Washington like so many marauders and "take back America".Yes, we now have a Republican majority in the House, but the Senate and Oval office are still Democratic.

I suspect that in two years, the poor American people will still be poor, still be frustrated, still be confused and be very very angry that all those pretty campaign promises were just that- enticements of flowers and candy, dinner and a movie so the country would take THEM back.

And I'll try really hard to refrain from screeching "SO- HOWZ THAT CHANGEY BACKEY THING WORKIN' FOR YA?"

If You Do Nothing Else Tuesday...

...go vote.

I've got my voter card in my purse and ready to go- proudly red ink stamped "democrat".

This is handy since not only do I actually vote democrat, but in elections where you must choose a straight party line, there IS no line in small-town East Texas for democrats. I AM the line and breeze right by all those republicans lined up out the door.

I remember going to the voting booth with my parents and getting to pull the levers on the big gray machine- the final red one opening the curtain and clearing out the votes with a metallic "swish".

I remember taking my kids to stand in line to vote, up to and including our youngest, who is handy at helping me remember how to work the newfangled faux computer voting machine.

I remember to vote. Every single election.

Because just one vote does make a difference.

Everyone gets one vote and each vote counts and matters. When we cease to believe that or become too busy or too lazy or too apathetic to haul our butts to the polling place and take five freakin' minutes out of our day to vote is when we lose more than elections, or majorities in Washington DC, we lose by abdication our right to any bitching whatsoever about the government in office.

I get so tired of people not just complaining, but getting downright aggressive about what they hate about the current administration, yet when asked if they voted, they say "No- I don't vote- it's depressing and one vote doesn't matter".

Really.

The way it's SUPPOSED to work is
-everyone over the age of 18 votes. In every election.
-the winners make the laws and whatnot for the next few years
-winners are elected by majority vote, so once elected everyone gets behind the winners because we're a "majority rule" kinda nation
-if this time's winners clearly suck at leadership and/or listening to their constituents, they get voted out the next election

The way it SEEMS to work is
-only really old or really fanatical people vote because they're the ones who make the time to do it
-the winners kiss as much lobbyist ass as they can while in office
-if your candidate doesn't win, it's assumed that there was corruption and cheating at the polling place, so "that other guy" didn't really win at all
-all the people from the losing side (including the candidates) whine and scream about the country being brought to quick and burning ruin by the winning parties with no chance of survival

Shut up.

Tomorrow is Tuesday- I'm voting democrat because I believe that's the right thing to do for my family and my country. If moderate republicans regain the majority I'll try to get behind them and hope they do the right and just things not just for themselves, but for their (and our) country.

If the Tea Party candidates are elected into office, we're all in deep shit.

Including, and perhaps mostly, the tea partiers, who, for some reason, fail to see that if they succeed in stripping the government bare of all 'socialist intrusive programs', none of their social security or VA checks will be in the mail next month.

The Tea Party thinks they're a powerful grassroots movement, blazing a path back to how America was founded. I hope the rest of us see that they're funded by the very people they claim to hate, and those very people will happily and gleefully chew up the tea partiers and spit them out...first.

So if you do nothing else Tuesday- go vote.

Vote thoughtfully.
Vote passionately.

Vote against insanity and ignorance.
Vote against the Tea Party.

Inigo Montoya for President

Ya know what I consider the Best Movie Ever?

The Princess Bride.

I love it well enough that my family knows they'll be watching it twice a year- on Valentine's Day and my birthday- for the rest of their natural lives.

Oh, sure, I appreciate it for all the girly touchy feely happy ending stuff- True Love, Epic kissing, as well as the character building stuff it's good to teach children- noble causes,gallant heroes victorious over evil, never engaging in a land war in Asia (guess GW & Co. never saw the movie)...

But my favorite part?

The revenge of Inigo Montoya.

Witnessing the brutal and senseless killing of his father at the tender age of 10, the young Inigo tried immediate retaliation, only to be disfigured (but left alive) by the evil Count Rugen.

Inigo spends the next 25 years or so studying sword play and searching for the man who killed his father to extract revenge.

When he finally encounters him, his first order of business is to cause the same disfigurement he'd been carrying all these years.

With Count Rugen literally backed against the wall, the inevitable 'begging for his life' ensues. He promises to give Inigo anything- ANYTHING- if he just lets him live.

Now, considering it's a movie seen by children, there's a certain part of me that wants to say "Turn the other cheek", "Only the creator can judge", "Two wrongs don't make a right" and "Violence never solved anything".

However

The heart of the Sicilian Mama in me literally swells with joy and I actually tear up and speak along with my second favorite movie line ever

"I want my father back, you son of a bitch".

Thrust.Stab. No more Count Rugen.

and that's what we need. We need THAT sort of right/wrong conviction from our elected officials.

We DON'T need any more steamrollering over citizens' rights, safety and very lives so the corporations and billionaires can continue their decimation of our country ala the Repbublican agenda.

We DON'T need any more pandering to those same corporations and billionaires to the point of watering down important legislation to where it's damn near useless (or worse) ala the Democratic agenda.

Shall we vote out the Democrats and put back the Republicans- those folks who put us on this road to ruination? They've got that pretty little Pledge to America now and are telling us they can make it "all better"- PLEEEEEEZE give them another chance...

I don't think so. If they can make it better, why the HELL did they let things get so out of hand in the first place? And other than vague promises of "reining in spending and cutting useless programs (like Social Security and the VA)" they promise very little.

Shall we give the Democrats another go? Well, they're already there, and truth is, 2 years was not enough to "fix" everything that's gone so wrong- especially the way they've been going about it, yanno- the way that completely sucks donkey balls.

The Republicans want to repeal "Obamacare" and replace it with "something better". Where the hell were they when it was being written up? And so far, their "better" looks alot like letting the insurance companies (a.k.a. the Free Market) continue to let people die in the streets, only worse, because they also want to "privatize"and/or phase out Social Security, Medicare and the VA.

The Democrats promised we'd bring all our service men and women home from a war we never needed to be a part of (one of those things that was steamrolled through under the guise of "protecting freedom afar" a.k.a. "those weird little brown people are sitting on OUR oil"). What the hell happened to THAT?

I really think that the right people are in place, but for some reason, upon taking their oaths of office, all their testicles just magically shriveled up and fell off- rolling under the desks like so many dust bunnies.

We've got less than two months till mid-terms. You know what'd be great?

It'd be great if the Republicans could listen and LOOK at their constituents- unemployed, hungry, sick, scared so shitless they believe anything you say no matter how insanely retarded it may be- all those teeming masses who DON'T take them to lunch on spendy lobbyist expense accounts from Pfizer or Monsanto- and do the right thing. Those are the people you are sworn to protect. Their lives. Their health. Their liberties. Stop purposely dividing this nation with tales of phantom monsters who only look like our neighbors, but who really want to take all their money, their women, their lives.

It'd be great if FOX News could be seen for what it is- NOT news at all, but 24/7/365 paid for programming that feeds the above fears to the point of not only saturation, but frenzy.

And it'd be really, really great if the Democrats remembered their promises, and could go to work every day REMEMBERING that they have the majority now- we gave it to them to use.

That they've had eight years to practice their sword play, hone their skills for a just cause, and that NOW is when they cannot falter in their convictions, that NOW is the time to not waver but move forward with intent, and purpose, look the fear-mongering minority directly in the eyes and say

"We want our country back, you sons of bitches".