On Apathy

The House failed to override President Bush's veto, and I imagine Mr. President in some surly swagger. Why surly? Surly for the very fact that our democratic house tried to override his "very relevant" veto-ing power in the first place.

I guess there is one key thing to remember in what most certainly feels like a failure. One No often time just isn't at the peak of its current life cylce. Perhaps we need a few more no's before we get that resounding yes we know that our children and families deserve.

I've talked often of the joys of persistence and I've noted how eventually, oftentimes, that no turns into a yes. This is an especially important concept as we are bound to feel phased out and unimportant in the political scheme of things. But things change. Decisions that were once a no oftentimes gradate into a yes.

The tricky part is ascertaining how to mold those no's and garner a yes.

This is my feeling on politics: Your representatives have no way of knowing your story. It is unrealistic to assume that someone else has told your story. That means that your representatives are voting on laws that will affect YOU yet they have no true concept of what effect their vote will truly have.

This is where you come in. You come in to tell your story. You take the time to learn about the bills that affect you, your children, your family, your friends. And then you send an email, write a letter, and make phone calls and you tell your story. It is our stories that, over time, have the propensity to fuel the most positive change. Why is that?

Our stories infuse political bills with humanity. Humanity makes these bills powerful, and sometimes, our humanity can change the course our very human politicians will take. Their yay or their nay.

One gift I have taken thus far from Partners in Policymaking is I seem to have missplaced my apathy.

Thank God for that.

And may we all find a niche in which to permanently dispose of this acrid state of personality.