Election Day and Beyond

Below – Email from November 3rd and November 7th


An email from November 3rd, 2004 ___________________________________________

As I sit at home today, sick to my stomach both from the election and a bug, I ponder my future as an American. I don't mean that I am moving to Canada, no matter how attractive that looks at the moment, but in a country where over half of those who voted, voted for a man, his values, his fears and his version of world politics that I fear are a threat to the very democracy I love, I ponder how we can come together and move forward. I also ponder what it means to be a Democrat.

There is a line from the West Wing, (the early years, when it really did have the heart and soul I related to), Leo says this line when talking to Bartlett in New Hampshire after getting rid of his slick handlers during the first campaign, "I'm tired of it. Year after year after year, having to choose between the lesser of who cares. Of trying to get myself excited about the candidate who can speak in complete sentences. Of setting the bar so low I can hardly stand to look at it." Where are they, where are the smart, idealistic, charismatic, honest, willing to put their ass on the line in their words and in their deeds, leaders for tomorrow?

Sure, it is easy to now say that Hillary is the logical choice, it is all over the internet already, but that isn't who I am talking about. I am talking about the people in this country that know that science and discovery are our collective future, that faith is a personal choice and not one to be imposed on others, who realize that there are many people of many backgrounds and many races, who will soon and are already becoming the majority in this country. Where are our future leaders who will set the bar higher, not pander to the middle and still be able to get elected? I still believe that package will come with a hefty dose of idealism and truth. That we need someone, who can energize the base, but build a strong enough vision that others will want to join. It won't be an election, it will be a movement. Something that people will want to join, be on board and help create.

That is what I have been pondering, the lack of vision. Not vision about saving Social Security, or when and how Iraq will have their elections, but a vision about what the world of the 21st Century could look like, how the people of this country can use what's left of its place in the world to build a safer better world for our future that doesn't always start with white men "going to the mattresses" (a Godfather reference for those who don't get it). Another words, not always resorting to war and violence as the answer in a complex world.

I am sad today, but my wise and wonderful fiancé assures me that there still is a future. Children will still play, we will still enjoy the sunsets off the cliffs in San Diego and Starbucks will still serve a crappy cup of decafe. But I must say this, I had hopes for this election. My hopes had alot less to do with John Kerry being President than they did with waking up today to see that there was a new start for America. I had the hope that the majority of the people in this country would vote to reject fear, anger and the self-serving use of a specifically defined god. I had hopes that we would at least being moving in the right direction as opposed to the one that we are unfortunately already in.

Well it didn't happen. It didn't happen so today I take a solemn oath. Today I say that there needs to be a new vision for America and it can't be the same retread of 20th century democratic thought. It has to be a vision, a cause, a movement that connects real meaning and hope for our world's future, to the millions of voters who could have made a different choice if given the proper motivation. I am not sure today what all this will look like, but I will work the best I can to find it and to tell others when I see it. Yes today I make that pledge and I ask that you do too. We need to move past our history and into the future, it won't be easy, but to me it is the only choice we have.

November 7th, 2004

I was deeply disappointed with an article in the San Francisco Chronicle today about how the Democratic Party must evolve. I was most disappointed by the comments of Senator Feinstein. The thought that we must "build a new base through candidates who are moderate, who carry the values of the state" is just the type of thought process that I believe is killing the Democratic Party. Yes, we almost unseated a sitting president in wartime and yes, we learned how to raise money on the internet, but what we didn't do is capture the hearts and minds of Americans. We responded, we complained, we bashed, we took too many of the same positions and took the opposite on too many others. What we didn't do is redefine, reframe and create a vision that breaks the bonds of the 20th century.

A few years ago, during the Gingrich years, I tried to start a bipartisan group based on three principles, Community, Compassion and Hope. It suggested that political decisions should be filtered through these principles. We talked about how to build these communities from the inside out on a neighbor-to-neighbor basis. By community we meant attempting to understand what could do to work together to build connections and relationships that help cross boundaries, patterns and differences. When talking about compassion we posed the question, what can we do to create understanding, tolerance and acceptance of those who are different than you, especially those who need the support of the society. Finally, hope was about creating policy that had a premise that no matter what our differences are, we all need to contribute to build a common future for our planet and our children. It is about touching the spiritual center of all people and using these three principles, principles which appear in all faiths and beliefs. The trick is building a process and framework that is new and different, that breaks the rhetoric of the last century, and that move us into an evolved framework.

I also believe in something else that was written in the paper today about Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr King helped create a new framework. The civil rights movement was actually the last time I believe what I am writing about was accomplished. He led a movement that crossed the boundaries of race, religion, and class and changed the country forever. He didn't eradicate the issues that his cause addressed, in fact now is a critical time for race and class relations. I believe it is time we create a movement. Call it Community, Compassion and Hope, (CCH) or call it something else, but there needs to be a multicultural, spiritual movement that builds bridges and common ground. Something that transforms this country, that crosses boundaries, that takes the land, the environment and the world into account. That builds hope and a vision for the future. That takes us to the mountain top and lets us all see to the other side. I am still working on this as others are and will be for our near future, but the ideas are bubbling and they will eventually be there, at least for now I can hope they will.