Life in the Middle Lane

Wyoming recently signed legislation adopting an official state code based on the Cowboy Code.

I didn’t have a TV much in my childhood, but when we had one in the house, my mother and grandfather made me watch western movies, Oprah, and the Andy Griffin show.  I never liked western movies; they were usually old, old movies, still in black and white.  I knew they were not the shows that my classmates talked about in school.

Despite my displeasure at having to watch those old movies and in my mind, “old people shows”, the cowboy movies always sucked me it.  Cowboys, to me, are exactly the way men are supposed to be. They are even better than the men from my favorite historical romances (which I LOVE).

Cowboys work quickly and quietly, they always do the right thing, even when it hurts, they are bound by honor, they always get the bad guys, they are good to the women around them, and they are kind to animals.  What more could one want in a man?

So when I listened to this podcast I was intrigued by the notion of a law created in the spirit of the cowboys from those old black and white movies. It only took a little digging to find this from Outdoor Life.

Although the historic Code of the West was unwritten, cowboys, trappers, hunters and others in the U.S. frontier knew it was about maintaining honesty, integrity and courage in a wide-open region where the affects of government barely reached and laws were not always enforced. Even though the bill is merely a symbolic gesture, carries no criminal penalties and is not meant to replace any civil codes, here at the Newshound, we think it reflects a pretty valuable ideology.

Ten Principles of Cowboy Ethics:

1. Live each day with courage

2. Take pride in your work

3. Always finish what you start

4. Do what has to be done

5. Be tough, but fair

6. When you make a promise, keep it

7. Ride for the brand

8. Talk less and say more

9. Remember that some things aren’t for sale

10. Know where to draw the line

Isn’t this cool, and so very true!? If only those in power (political, economic and social) believed and lived by these. But this list isn’t just for the rich or powerful.

What I love the most about this list is that it isn’t JUST about how to do more or better work. This is about how to live a better life. We all could live fuller, happier lives and make the world a better place if we keep this code in mind.

How different would the world be if everyone kept their promises (and we trusted them to keep their promises) or if everyone lived with the courage to do what needs to be done or our souls/environment/country couldn’t be sold to the highest bidder.

I’m adding this to my vision board. Who knew that the cowboys from my mama’s favorite movies were not only perfect men, but also good models of ethical behavior? Maybe THAT’S what made them perfect

It’s been a year since I played hookey from school and watched Barack Obama take the oath of office and move from being that super smooth politico-celebrity to leader of the free world.

It’s been even longer than that since I spent many a Saturday morning in front of the public library trying to convince people to, once they returned their library books, vote early (or simply register to vote and by the way, would they consider voting for Barack Obama and these other politicians that I think are pretty cool.

I was, and still am for the most part, inspired by Barack Obama and his near meteoric rise from Chicago no-name to POTUS. I really didn’t get all the “hope” bullshit, I didn’t believe that what America needed was HOPE—what we needed was someone with at least a little bit of intelligence to get in the White House and do what needed to be done. I FIRMLY stood behind Barack, praying that he really would bring the right kind of change to the States.

And so I have to admit that I’m a little let down.

Not that Barack isn’t doing the best he can. Let’s be for real, America was in trouble WAY before he stepped foot in the Oval Office for the first time. And all this economic crisis, housing bubble, bank bailout crap is still taking center stage. He did not create the shitstorm he’s currently wading through.

But still, dammit, I had an AGENDA! I just KNEW that by this point in the presidency we would have glorious universal healthcare, the wars in Iraq and Afganistan would be over – with all the Jews and Christians and Muslims of the world, sitting together singing Kumbaya. I figured at this point we’d (Barack and I) would start dealing with domestic issues like increasing access to public transportation in our largest metro areas, ending homelessness and increasing affordable housing stock, enhancing high speed internet connections in rural areas, fixing public education, letting gays get married, reversing global warming, perfecting the electric car, and maybe, just maybe, walking on water.

Unfortunately, this economic mega-crisis isn’t the only thing that’s stopping Barack’s and my progress. Why? Because America is still a two party system, and the other party (and fake members of our own party) continue to dig their stupid little feet into the mud, and pout and tantrum and not do ANYTHING productive. They pander and pussyfoot and act all mampy-pampy.

And, bless their hearts, the Repulicans , at this point, are just being spiteful and obstinate. I really don’t think that they have issues with the MERIT of some of Obama’s policies, they just say no as the starting point of their negotiations.

And poor Obama, still trying to be bipartisan. I was flipping the channels on the TV the other day and stopped briefly at MSNBC or CNN or something and saw Obama say something to the effect of “Bipartisanship doesn’t mean me giving into what they want all the time, and them giving in to what I want none of the time.” Meh. It’s a good start I guess.

Wanna know what I think?

-F- bipartisanship.  –F the Democrats. –F the Republicans. –F the PACs and Interest Groups. –F the think tanks and policy wonks.  And while I’m at it, –F Congress and f-ing re-election.

A couple of weeks ago I came across the Iron Law of Oligarchy- which basically says that those in power will do whatever is needed to remain in power. I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve seen this in action during my career, electeds who wuss out and don’t stand up for what’s right just because of the political reality of incumbency.  In DC it’s so much worse, where the stakes are oh so high and the money and power are addictive and intoxicating. Think about all the senators and representatives who have been sitting pretty and all self-important in the houses of Congress for longer than I’ve been born and haven’t accomplished anything useful. If it were up to me, 98% of Congress would be fired.

Policy making along the lines of political ideology, the latest gallup poll, or who’s flashing the biggest wad of money at you is not what’s hot in the streets.

Barack, dear friend that I stood for, campaigning – all day in the cold, wet rain on a lonely day in November – Be the exception to the rule. For the sake of all that is holy, all the newly minted voters that voted, for you, for the first time in their lives, for all the people that gave thanks to God and cried at the end of election night and during your inauguration, and for me, all the times I told some poor schmuck that their vote DOES matter, for all the Americans who you represent, for all the detractors that say you won’t be successful. For all of us, find and use your moral compass. Don’t succumb to the gathering and hoarding of power, don’t listen to the polls or the pundits. Forget about the corporate campaign funders. While we are at it, get rid of all the Clinton pundits on your staff telling you what to do. They are so 90’s anyway.

Barack, you’re a smart guy. I bet you even taught an Ethics class or two when you were an academic. I am confidence that you know right from wrong. Just… do the right thing. Stop worrying about what people will or won’t say. Ignore Fox News.

Make all those new grey hairs on your head worth it. Stop worrying. We trust you to do the right thing. We voted for you, so show us what REAL CHANGE looks like.

Just do the right thing. If that means being a bully to get good policies to pass, do it. If it means alienating folks that you would normally compromise with, do it. If it means calling people out on their asinine-ness, do. Flex your presidential muscle.

We voted for you because we thought you’d do a good job, do the right thing, and make us proud.

Don’t make us look stupid.

Atlernatively titled: This is my new motto. or More on why women should rule the world

This morning I was researching slacking off as I normally do and came across a New York Times article about State of the Nation/Union/Country.  Apparently, the US isn’t the only county to have an annual State Address. I was intrigued, and clicked to see what other leaders have been talking about lately.  Mostly its boring, economic stuff but this one quote from Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during her (yes, I said her) State of the Nation Address on July 27, 2009 took my by surprise and caused me to do a double read.

I did not become president to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people — that is why I became president.  To those who want to be president, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander. And don’t say bad words in public.

Wouldn’t we be better off if all the world’s leaders felt and behaved this way?

When I got to Georgia in mid-June, I decided to go to an employment agency for help finding a job.  Within twenty minutes, he asked me to show him my LinkedIn, which I did.  He, a black man, tsk-tsked and said that I should remove my picture from LinkedIn, Facebook and any other web presence because he didn’t want me to be looked over for a job because I’m black. He continued, “We are still in the south. You can’t be too careful.”

Uhm, excuse me? Does this world still exist? Call me crazy, but I didn’t think that is it would be useful or in my best interest to remove my gorgeous face from the internet. I mean, bottom line—if an employer doesn’t like my looks (for any reason) then that’s likely not a job I want to have.  And I was shocked and appalled to be receiving that piece of advice.

Then I start reading the NYT this morning and there are a series of articles on Prez Obama and whether race is an issue in terms of how he’s been treated during this Health Care debacle. And I think back to all the hateful thinks that I’ve heard and seen this summer during the tea parties that the Republicans have sponsored around the country.  They seem to attack his heritage as much as his policies. It makes me rethink my view of racism in America. Maybe it’s not dead like I thought. So I wonder, when will racism die in America?

Lately, I’ve seen pictures on Obama with defaced with a Hitler-ish mustache (which I think is the stupidest thing ever) and I hear that he’s being compared to Nazis, fascists and other dictators. (Again, these comparisons are illogical. Check your history, jackasses.) What are these protesters and other oppositionists thinking? These pictures just make them look as stupid as they sound.

Do they hate him because they really think that this Administration is being fiscally irresponsible (Seriously, where have this people been hiding for the past 8 years?!?!) Or do they hate him because he’s black?

Even contemplating that question makes me sad.

I hate everything about this stupid war in Iraq. And all the stupid articles about Iraq just make me angry.  My brother’s in Iraq for the 3^rd, count ‘em first, second, THIRD time. I mean, the second time he was over there, his HumVee got blown up, and his knee cap got BLOWN OFF. He’ll never walk without a limb. His first born child will be born in October, and he won’t be there. Twenty Four is TOO YOUNG to see the all the death that he’s seen. And I miss him, damn it.

I’m sick of every news report starting out with how many soldiers and marines died in Iraq. It’s TOO much. I want this war over now.  I’m all about diplomacy, but for fuck’s sake, just end it already!

I recently went to a lecture on race relations.  As one of 3 people of color in the room, It was hard not feeling like a fly in the buttermilk.  On the other hand, I reminded myself that these required diversity lectures and race awareness stuff isn’t necessarily for me.  There for the 30+ white people who may or may not have very much experience dealing with people who do not look like them.

 I spent most of the lecture bouncing between unease, nonchalance, and boredom until nearly the end of the lecture.  As she wrapped up her speech, the lecturer asked the audience to talk among ourselves about the myriad policy implications of American race relations.  At first, I resigned myself to sit back and listen to what the white people had to say.  (I find that I can often learn more by listening than speaking).

 However, I love my classmates and I don’t want them going out into the world thinking and saying stupid stuff because one of the few examples of diversity in the classroom refused to get involved and speak up.  So I joined the conversation and asked them to look around the auditorium and see the 3 black students in the room.

 Be aware of white privilege: I reminded them that our building is full of pictures of old white men; that the university was built on racism and slavery; that we have only one professor of color on staff at MPA School.  I asked them to think about how it might feel to constantly be a minority in an environment that (based on the previous description) doesn’t seem to value people that look like you. I want them to go out in the world appreciating and seeking out diversity.

I told them what it was like to be me.  In both academic and workplace settings, I am often the only black person in the room.  I get a little excited that Old Navy commercials have black and white mannequins. And I smile when I see the same Pantene commercial with a white and black girl.  I’ve walked into interviews and seen the slightly shocked faces of interviewers. I can fairly assume that they weren’t expecting a black girl.  I told my classmates that sometimes I feel like the defender of all Black people, everywhere and that I sometimes feel that I should be careful of what I say because someone may attribute my attitude to all Black people.

 The virtue of white privilege is never having to think about race.  Every day something happens to remind me of my race.  Not in big overly racist ways.  It’s subtle. Like in class when someone says something about “gentrification” or “low-income neighborhoods”, and everyone turns and looks back at me.  Or when a class presenter shows a powerpoint presentation full of little poor black and brown kids, and smiling happy white kids.  Couldn’t find ONE happy brown kid, could ya?

That sh*t pisses me off.

Race is still an issue. It’s not something that we should or can ignore.

In the lecture, someone asked, Since Barack Obama was elected president, aren’t we now living in a post-racial world?

 *my thought bubble: Uhm, no.

The lecturer rightly asked what does post-racial mean.  The student said something about being colorblind. 

Colorblind? Really?  Is there something wrong with noticing someone’s race? I don’t think so.

Should we strive to be colorblind?  I think not. We should acknowledge race and move on!  Not seeing race is like not seeing the booger that someone has in their nose or the pimple in the middle of your forehead.  The more you try not to notice, the bigger and nastier it gets.

 Being colorblind suggests that we should overlook our differences.  I disagree.  I think we should embrace our differences. 

When I enter a new situation, I like to look around and find the person that is the least like me and befriend them. (I often find myself sitting and cutting up with the old white men or little Asian ladies). 

I love cities like Boston or Miami or San Francisco, where there are SO MANY different kinds of people.  I’m not just talking about racial diversity. I love it when I walk down the street and I can’t understand all the languages that are being spoken, or none of the restaurants that I see serve hamburgers and french fries, or when I people-watch and the fashion styles of the people that I see are “weird”.   Weird and different indicate that I’m going to learn something new.  Someone is going to broaden my horizons.  And that makes me happy.

Should we be colorblind? Hell NO! We shouldn’t fear or overlook the ways that we are all different.  We should appreciate and nurture those differences.  If we are to create something fresh and new and different, we should not ignore the ways our differences come together.

Elysa at GenPink had a recent post titled “Do you call yourself a feminist?”.  In this post, Elysa summarized a discussion that happened on 20-something bloggers about what feminism means and whether 20-somethings still identify with feminism. 

Reading her post reminded me of an ongoing discussion I’ve been having with a group of my friends.  At least one of us REFUSES to call herself a feminist because she’s seen too many gung-ho feminists become uber career-minded until they find a man to take care of them, then all the feminist stuff is thrown out the window.  

While I do call myself a feminist, I often feel the same way.  In college at Salem, from day one as a freshman I was bombarded with the idea that women could do and be anything.  These girls were amazing. When I moved in as a freshman, my dad was prepared to move all my stuff into the dorm room, but little did he know that Salem girls move their own sh*t. He barely lifted a finger and my car was unpacked in no time. 

Over the years, I remember being jealous of (or maybe having crushes on???)some of the girls who seemed to have it all.  There were girls at Salem who were smart, pretty, and seemed to have amazingly bright futures. I couldn’t wait to see the greatness that they would accomplish. 

 One or two years after graduation, I would be excited to read Salem’s alumni magazine to see what the girls were up to. They didn’t disappoint me; United Nations, Capitol Hill, medical school, law school, PhD programs, and adventures is South America, Africa and Europe were often the updates I would read about my Salem sisters. I’ve even seen some of my Salem friends on TV and the NYT. How cool is that? 

Then those updates started to change. For the past few years, the updates I receive are more likely to be about who got married, who’s pregnant, who’s had kid number 1, 2 or 3. And even worse?  Those girls who dated girls all through college who are now married to men and being  f*cking housewives!  These updates piss me off. If the most important thing that is happening to you is your marriage or kids, I really don’t care to know. 

Hmmmm. That didn’t come out exactly how I meant. 

I understand the importance of having a partner in life.  I write a lot about relationships, and my relationship in particular; it is a huge part of my life.  I understand that building a family is important so many people. And I love to rejoice in the joys of my friends. But come on. Did some of the smartest people I know quit their careers to stay home with the kids? I hate to see women give up their hopes, dreams and accomplishments for the husband and kids.  

One of my best friends, who has a really different fairytale than me about where she wants her life to go and also considers herself a feminist, once explained to me that her focus on being married and having kids wasn’t any less feminist than my ball-busting, take the world by storm dream.  She said that feminism isn’t about having a career at the expense of family and husband (or vice versa).  Feminism is about having the choice. I still hate that she’s going to forego her potential brilliance to give birth, but I can dig her argument. 

So I’m thankful to feminists, even those who have turned their backs on the cause. Your struggles make my life possible.   

What does feminism mean to you?  Can one be a house wife and still call herself a feminist?  Do you know women who have turned their back on feminism, and embraced the married with kids life?

How do you married, career ladies keep it all together?

For a couple of months, I’ve been toying with the idea of developing an on-line networking site.  I’ve spent countless hours (when I probably should have been working on my studies) thinking about the different aspects and features of my very cool networking site.  I multi-tasked in class looking at different software that I could use to develop it. I thought about domain names, and mission statements, and how to build a business brand (or at least a non-profit) around my idea.  Like everything I do, I obsessed about it.

So.

Here’s my idea. Or the story behind my idea.

2 weeks ago I listened (or pretended to) to a lecture by a government hack who was talking a group of other government hacks (and future government hacks, i.e. MPAers) about the way we Gen Y and Millennial (and Gen X to a certain extent) MPA, MPP degree holders manage our careers.

His main points:

We change jobs frequently. We aren’t attached to a job title, an organization or a boss.  If something better, more fun, more interesting, more engaging comes along; we bounce like a bad check.  On to bigger and better things. (This is not a surprise to anyone under 32.)

We change sectors frequently. We don’t particularly care if we work for non-profits, governments (local, state or federal), or the private sector or ourselves. And at some point in our careers, most of us will have worked for a combination of these entities.  Most of us are in it to make a difference, change the world, start a revolution-otherwise we would be getting MBA’s and not MPA’s. And chasing the almighty dollar.

Ahem.  That is the back story.

This is the front.

I am looking for a work opportunity and I want to expand my professional work-related network. I would say I want to start my career but that sounds so stick in the mud and is so.not.me. I would say I’m looking for a job, but “job” sounds hard and boring and I don’t want work to be hard, I want it to be fun, engaging and I want to contribute to the welfare of my fellow man, dammit.  And I really don’t care who I work for.

And I figured there are lots of others just like me, graduating with a MPA, MPP, Political Science, Social Policy, blah blah blah degree but not really looking to be a cog in someone else’s wheel. And I know there are other young professionals and recent grads just like us who are trying to get off the bureaucracy bandwagon and actually DO something useful.  Even if it’s just for volunteer.

And then I thought, Wouldn’t it be fun if we all (all the world changers, in all job sectors, around the world) had a place where we could meet, greet, exchange ideas, talk about available jobs, share our work/war stories (horror and other) network, chit chat, build a community, make a difference, help each other and save the world (and the whales)?

My networking site could be a hub for all the sh!t that I think about when I’m sitting in class learning (supposedly) how to affect organizational change or read a regression line.

Today my school sent me a survey, no doubt sponsored by the government hack from the beginning of the story, and it listed some of the best known on-line social media outlets (myspace, facebook, linkedin, blogs)  and asked the question, which of these do you utilize  most? I scrolled down to the bottom of the list, because, of course, I use them all and I want pick the other box so I can add twitter (and ping) and when I get to the bottom I see a website that I have never heard of.

Like all things internet related, I must know what this mysterious, unknown website is……

And damn if it’s not my f*cking idea!  Just in case you, like me, have been living under a rock, apparently, and have never heard of this site; it is Idealist.org and it is pretty f*cking cool.  I’m just mad I didn’t think of it first. Dammit.

Now I have to think of another big idea. Sh!t.

In MPA school we spend a lot of time talking about public policy and how policy affect public administrators and since my class is a pretty liberal crew we discuss our opinions with each other ad nausem. In this most historic American week of my lifetime, Barack Obama was elected to be our 44^th president (Yay) California banned gay marriage (boo), and in the most boring Public Administration conference ever I learned that America is indeed in a recession and it will probably get worse before it gets better (Argh!!!).

So, today, I will answer 2 questions that I have been asked over and over and over… and one question that I asked on Twitter that no one took the bait on.

1. What do you think about the Obama Victory?

I am super excited that Barack Obama was elected President. Why, you asked?

Because this was the first presidential election that my baby sister has ever voted in (she’s 18), and I wanted her to have a positive experience.

Because lots and lots of people who have never voted before took part in our political system (and the system f-ing worked!!!!)

And not only did he win, he BLUEd up some states. North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, some other midwestern states that I can’t think of!!!! I am so proud of my country right now. America rocks!

Obama (whether you like him or not) inspires people. He has restore hope and optimism to a bunch of cynical, hard-hearted, apolitical Americans and  I hope to see more good people entering politics because of him.

He has restored the WORLD’S faith in America. His election proves that Americans aren’t as stupid as I (and every other country on the planet) thought they were in 2004.

He and Michelle are just so f-ing cool! I really just want to be their friend and chil-lax in the White House having conversations, babysitting the girls and hanging out with the family.

This is the first presidential election that I have ever voted in where the guy that I voted for won.

This is the first election that I think people 18-35 had a candidate that they could truly relate to and believe in. Gens X, Y and millennials actually made a difference. Several of my best friends has been working TIRELESSLY for the Obama campaign and I KNOW that their efforts made the difference.

The election of Obama signifies the end of an era and I am so glad to see it go.

(****notice that none of my reasons have to do with him being a Black man****)

And a follow up: This historical election is one of those things where people ask, “Where were you when Obama got elected?” Here is my answer: When CNN and NBC called the election for Obama, I was at home sharing the experience with the gf (over the telephone). In one moment the news anchors were talking, and then all we heard was screaming.  I was indisposed at the moment (in a unspecified location in my house, ahem) and couldn’t get up to see what the screaming was about. Luckily the gf was able to tell me that Obama had won. I couldn’t believe it. I’m still a little in shock.

2.  What do you think about the passage of California’s Prop 8 that bans gay marriage?

I am so disappointed at California. California has always been a beacon of life to a little lost black girl like me. It also seemed like the one place where all the people who were a little different, a little alternative, and little (or a lot) less normal could go and be accepted and thrive.  I have to rethink California now. And it makes me a little sad.

And I sit and think, how can the country, on the one hand, elect Barack in a landslide and then other the other, (in arguably most liberal state in the country) vote to ban gay marriage. I’m so confused and sad.

I mean, everything happened on the same ballot, so logically it follows that a lot of the people who voted for Obama voted for the ban. Right? What the f*ck is up with that?

Let’s assume for a moment.

Lots of Black people can out to vote for Obama. Could it be that historically oppressed Blacks voted to oppress another segment of society? Have they forgotten that equal and separate is NEVER really equal?  Have they forgotten that it took a coalition of Blacks and whites to affect change for Black people?

Homosexuals need our straight brothers and sisters to stand up for and with us if we are going to emerge from this constant battle of 3 steps forward, 2 steps f-ing back. *Sigh. This just reminds me of why I hate incrementalism.

Of course, I don’t know who actually voted for Prop 8, but lots of people seem to think it was people of color .

3.  Does the bust always follow the boom?

Economically speaking, it sure as hell seems that way. Every time someone explains economic policy, in terms of the current crises and the recession, I see a pattern Boom.Bust.Boom.Bust.Boom.Bust. The little squiggly lines on economic graphs show cycles of good and plenty, followed by deep dark recessions. In my life, I saw the dot com boom and bust and now the housing boom and bust.

For once I’d like things to be on a little flatter line. I think that a flat line would indicate folks having enough money (and nice nest egg savings) without the rampant consumerism that seems to drive the high boom.

Essentially, what goes up must come down.  So, if we never have those super high times, then we don’t have the far to fall.  Hence, no bust.  (this is all in my completely unprofessional non-economic opinion, of course.)

Happy Friday, party people. Be E-Z

A friend and I had a conversation a few weeks ago, and as is the case often with me, the topic strayed to politics. Apparently, I stuck my foot in my mouth one too many times when I said something about Bush being an idiot, and how if McCain had been the 2000 Republican nominee, and had he subsequently won the general election, that America wouldn’t be in the sh*tcan now.

To which she replied that WE didn’t know that W. was stupid. My eyebrows raised, and I said WE? And my beautiful, wonderful, African American, enlightened friend precedes to tell me that she is a registered Republican and that she voted from W–twice. And my jaw hit the floor, the room started spinning and I had to remind myself to keep breathing.

Once I woke up from my faint and was able to close my mouth (*only kidding slightly) I asked her why. (just a little hysterically)

Her response surprised me, and amazingly, I agree with some of her points, (intellectually, at least).  I will share them with you.

She said that the Democratic Party tries to be everything to everybody. I know this is true and I have complained about it, actually a lot, when I was involved. I mean, I understand wanting to be the party of inclusion, but there comes a point, as my friend told me, that you spread yourself too thinly, you’ve got too much going on, you have too many folks with their hands out, and you don’t have adequate resources to take of the most important things. And there are some things that are super more important.

Democrats, you gotta prioritize. You can’t do everything. People of color, gay people, environmentalists, socialists, poor people, working class, the disenchanted, city folk, country folk, the educated, artists, leftists of all persuasions flock to the Democratic Party. And part of me thinks that is great, but part of me knows that time and money are precious commodities ( I learned that from Seth)

I also learned from Seth that you have to be the best– and apparently Americans haven’t considered the Democrats to be the best. Which makes me sad. The Dems fail by dealing with so many differing agendas and priorities.  I imagine it being like herding cats, or some other wild animal. Impossible, tiring, and not pleasing to anyone involved.  Pick things that will be the most uplifting for your party and keep it moving.  I’m not saying forget all the really small obscure folks, but you can’t let them water down the message.  Message consistency is important.

Next, my friends said that while she agrees that the most fortunate have a duty to the least among us, she hates to see ineffective government spending. She used housing policy as an example. She asked me to recite some of the names of Housing Acts that are supposed to help lower income people afford nice places to stay. I started naming them (I am studying housing policy this semester so I could do that).

When she asked me why there are so many (and there are) I told her that some of the reasons that there are a multitude of housing policies is that some of them aren’t funded enough, that each policy focuses on a particular group of folks, that there are a lot of homeless and almost homeless folks in America to deal with, and that the policies continue to be tweaked and renamed.

She, in turn, forced me to think about other ways to reach and help people with housing aid (other than giving them a check/voucher), and she forced me to think about all the projects/policies that don’t work, but continue to get funded. And I got a little pissed off. Because she is right.

I’ve met dirt ass poor people in western North Carolina that prove her point. The Feds pours money into social policy—and they should because it helps people, but policies need to prove that they work. There should be performance measures that show that people are being helped and aren’t being reecycled through the system. Because when policies don’t work but continue to be funded, they make us socialists look bad. And public money is wasted, which sucks.

Poor, proud independent people vote Republican because they don’t take advantage of the social service system and are abhorrent about supporting it through taxes. They don’t want to pay taxes, period! And they definitely don’t want to pay taxes for social policy they don’t want, that threatens their independent nature, and is seen as charity. These are folks who would rather not have indoor plumbing and would prefer to live in a shanty than to talk to a non-profit or government agency on how to rehab their home, install plumbing, get on food stamps, etc. I think this is stupid, but that is just me.

So why do non-super rich people vote Republican? Well, apparently some of them have logical answers.  But mostly, I think they don’t see themselves reflected in the Democrats,or they see others that they don’t agree with reflected more in the Democrats than they do in the Republicans and they chose, what to them is the lesser of two evils. It is absolutely horrid, but true.

None of this post is to say that I, or anyone else should ever, ever vote Republican. That would be a stupidly bad decision. I would call you names, I may throw rocks at you and you won’t be allowed in my house.

But seriously, the Republican Party gets it wrong on so many levels. They get it wrong on health, they get it wrong on women’s issues, they get it wrong on taxation, they get it wrong on war, and they get it wrong on diversity issues. The only thing that they don’t get wrong is how to increase the gap between the rich and the poor while increasing the national deficit like crazy.

But as my unlikely conversation with my friend (we are still friends, btw) proves, the more you know the better off you are. I’m the first to admit that the federal system is broken, it needs to be overhauled. But I’m not enough of a masochist to go to Washington and fight to fix it. For now, I’ll just work on making my little piece of community here at home the most awesome place ever, and I’ll keep talking to you on the information superhighway, of course.