A sort of apology to everyone who asks about the Donald. (Yes, he is a sociopath. But there's more to it, than that.)
I recently sat outside the US Consular offices in Athens. It was a long wait (more than 3 hours)and I used the time to listen to most of HRC's way too long acceptance speech. It seemed anyone passing by might have heard but no one questioned or tried to shut me down. Nobody cared. I was looking at the flag, mercifully not at half staff for what seems like an exceptional day, and trying to keep from letting tears run down my face. A repectable Female presidential candidate. In my lifetime. At last. It's been a long wait. Real change.It's only my grandmother's generation that finally won the right to vote.
It seems that reason, hope, and rationality get no traction. It's only freaks and fear that get attention. The tiny miracle of watching everyone get their errands done, their work accomplished, and in an atmosphere of calm and orderly normality was seemingly not worth a second thought. Caring about this daily miracle is important. The slow step by step progress that the lines of individuals waiting to enter was such a powerful image, and so commonplace that its powerful positive impact slipped past so silently as to leave almost no evidence. This incredible daily serviceable functionality is what the rest of the world either struggles to achieve, or mocks as insensitive mediocrity..or worse. It's impressive in that it's NOT impressive. It's just doing what needs to be done without fanfare without olive wreaths or medals. Good enough for government work ( having observed way too close and personally how certain other governments citizen and visitor services "work") is more often than not actually great. It does not need to be 'great again'. Of course it could be better, and in thousands of small ways an HRC presidency with her bitchy boring attention to details will chip away at the errors and defects that plague and bring shame to our not yet always the best answers. Wanting to improve the pretty good to reach excellent...is not a ringing slogan, yet. Excellence as a goal, though? Yep. down right Olympian. I'm going out to collect me some nice olive branches to wave around. That should be attention getting enough?
I recently sat outside the US Consular offices in Athens. It was a long wait (more than 3 hours)and I used the time to listen to most of HRC's way too long acceptance speech. It seemed anyone passing by might have heard but no one questioned or tried to shut me down. Nobody cared. I was looking at the flag, mercifully not at half staff for what seems like an exceptional day, and trying to keep from letting tears run down my face. A repectable Female presidential candidate. In my lifetime. At last. It's been a long wait. Real change.It's only my grandmother's generation that finally won the right to vote.
It seems that reason, hope, and rationality get no traction. It's only freaks and fear that get attention. The tiny miracle of watching everyone get their errands done, their work accomplished, and in an atmosphere of calm and orderly normality was seemingly not worth a second thought. Caring about this daily miracle is important. The slow step by step progress that the lines of individuals waiting to enter was such a powerful image, and so commonplace that its powerful positive impact slipped past so silently as to leave almost no evidence. This incredible daily serviceable functionality is what the rest of the world either struggles to achieve, or mocks as insensitive mediocrity..or worse. It's impressive in that it's NOT impressive. It's just doing what needs to be done without fanfare without olive wreaths or medals. Good enough for government work ( having observed way too close and personally how certain other governments citizen and visitor services "work") is more often than not actually great. It does not need to be 'great again'. Of course it could be better, and in thousands of small ways an HRC presidency with her bitchy boring attention to details will chip away at the errors and defects that plague and bring shame to our not yet always the best answers. Wanting to improve the pretty good to reach excellent...is not a ringing slogan, yet. Excellence as a goal, though? Yep. down right Olympian. I'm going out to collect me some nice olive branches to wave around. That should be attention getting enough?
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