careful where you stand
what is it with politics that leaves me thoroughly dissatisfied? also, why can't i ever be bothered to look up the correct spelling of dissatisfied? two s's? one? does it matter? good.

so, politics... voting day is tomorrow. and, as i try not to disclose too often, i will be painfully impotent tomorrow. a resident alien, an in-valid. it's fine being a loyal Subject of the Queen 364 days out of the year, just not tomorrow. i feel like my impassioned pleas for radical social change and environmental focus end up being just this side of hypocritical, because i can't do anything about it. the letters, the arguments in which i participate with friends, the boycotts, the lifestyle... all of it distills to the fact that i'm not a constituent of any of those folk in the capitol, so how can i be incensed when nothing goes my way?

but i remind myself that most real i-voted-for-ya constituents live their lives mostly unnoticed by their elected representatives. letters are read and responded to, but special interests are the way to a politician's heart. or, stomach? wait, i'm getting my proverbial sayings jumbled. or am i just being unfathomably witty and charming?

so maybe i'm no less impotent than the next guy. (hahahahahahaha, okay, i'll find a new word). in the end, our dollar is our strongest vote. i don't mean giving the dollars to the politician. that can be pointless, unless you have an extra 10 million of them to compete with the Massive Corporate Donors. i mean, using it wisely. don't like Massive Corporate Donors? don't give them your money. don't like the starbucks evil empire? don't give them your money. don't like the fast food industry? don't give them your money. we'd all probably save money and weigh less if we were more concientious about what we spend and where we spend it.

don't forget to vote tomorrow. i'm not saying that voting is useless. (although sometimes my internal defense mechanisms get that way). voting is the essence of democracy, and if we can choose between a candidate who puts their own needs (and the corporations' needs who paid their way to the elected seat) ahead of the nation and the people OR someone who will make a difference, or maybe someone who doesn't accept corporate funding, then we are suddenly very powerful. we can't elect someone as a "representative" unless they're really going to represent us.

okay, enough out of my impotent limey gob.