Politics . . . its tiring but ya gotta love it!

It was a long drawn out campaign for both sides and to be honest I’m kinda tired of all of this now. But I know I will keep watching, reading all I can to learn and stay informed of the issues. Because I know, that despite the divides that politics can create, despite the unrest from all sides, the strained tensions that develop . . . politics ultimately DO bring out the good in people if we let it.

Politics allows everyone to put our heart on our sleeve, to illustrate what we believe matters. It allows us to talk of subjects we have views on but may not know how to bring up . . . topics of abortion, of gun control, government size, wars and the environment. It provides the perfect opportunity to believe with every ounce of you in something outside yourself.

Politics sometimes brings out great people . . . it’s given us Churchill and Trudeau, FDR, Mandela and the Kennedy’s. Politics has provided a platform to address social injustices . . . to highlight inequalities in our world and the ability to change them. It has given voice to those who did not have one or were too afraid to speak. Politics has spurred revolutions that made the world better . . . movements that changed the place we call home and how we deal with one another.

Politics is sometimes messy and it hurts my brain thinking about all of the possibilities. Candidates promise things they will never be able to give us, yet it’s the promise we keep to each other . . . to keep talking about the world and the changes we want to see in it that keeps me coming back.

No political party is perfect, no candidate is a Messiah and everyday I find something in the news that makes me want to drink enough bourbon to fill a bathtub. But I don’t. Because I remember that big changes sometimes come in tiny steps . . . leaders are found in the crowd . . . memorable words that define leadership are often found in speeches we never thought we’d want to hear . . . but did.

So yes, I am tired of politics, but I’ve never been more aware of how much I love it all. We have heard about change for the last year and a half, the economy tanked, oil & precious metals prices have fallen dramatically so we hopefully will soon see the changes in the wind. The Big 3 automakers again came to Washington to ask for a handout. They ‘drove’ this time in their hybrid cars to make a better impression than their last appearance. I think they forgot to mention that the hybrids were ‘trucked’ to just outside D. C. and off loaded to be driven those last few miles . . . you see the problem the automakers had with their energy efficient vehicles is that they would not have enough electric energy to make the drive from Detroit without stopping several times to recharge. It’s such a joke it’s not really funny anymore.

I remember years ago when we had problems with the air traffic controllers who went on strike. The next morning a reporter asked then President Reagan about the strike. His reply, “Strike? We’re hiring!” Should we bail out the Big 3? Probably not as sometimes business fails especially when no one for many years tried to change anything for more fuel efficiency or get rid of the bigger vehicles. All I saw here in Alaska was gift cards or rebates to give you fuel for making a purchase of a gas hog. Great marketing maybe but lousy business sense . . . either way those big trucks are still sitting on the lots covered in snow here in Anchorage.

I even think I saw dollar bills frozen to the door handles trying to get people to stop in for a look . . . not really sure as we are in our dark season now and could be hallucinating looking for more daylight.

Ice