It's taken me more than two days to recover from the initial outrage and shock that I felt on January 6th, 2005 - a day which should, to misquote a beloved Democrat, but probably will not, live in infamy.
That was the day that democracy failed - again, and this time in a stunning display of obstinacy and obfustication.
Read below the jump for more of my little rant.
People tried to speak. People tried to be heard, people tried to let their constituents be heard, and people tried to let those brave ones speaking out for those they represent
be heard. And then I watched the Senate file into the House's chamber, and listened to the findings of both houses as they unanimously shot down America's right to be heard.
I called Senator Boxer's office a little while after and thanked her for standing up and doing the right thing, holding to ethics and showing grace under pressure. Also Representative Conyers' office, to offer my thanks as an American - because I think that, had those voter shenanigans been going on to any noticeable extent in my voter precinct, he would have tried to make my voice heard, as well. By standing up and speaking for Ohio, he also stood up and spoke for me, and for you.
But yes, despite the efforts of Senator Boxer and of Representative Conyers, democracy failed that day.
The blame for that goes not on Rep. Conyers' shoulder, and not on Senator Boxer's. I think it goes partially on John Kerry, for not being there to champion this from Election Day on (for capitulating before even Faux News sang, and for using the Democratic Party as one collective canary). It goes partially on John Edwards, for the same. The blame falls on the Senators and Representatives all the states, those persons who did not stand up and say, "No, there's something off here and we need to investigate this until we find that everything is right." It most certainly goes on George W. and the GOP, for defrauding the American people time and time again.
But most of all, it rests with the American people themselves.
The point of the Ohio challenge was not to change the outcome of the election. The point was to underscore the importance of making sure that the electoral process is trustworthy - that people can go out to fulfill their civic duty and be heard, with the certainty that they will be heard, for and against one running pair or another. The point was to say "No, this was wrong, and we need to make sure that this does not become a precedent (president?) - we need to fairly enforce the right of all Americans to vote and be counted."
Congress is but the vehicle by which Americans make their voices heard in the government. That America elected people unwilling to stand up and fight for their constituents' rights, says that Americans themselves are unwilling to get up off their own lazy asses and assert their own rights. And - this system is so interdependent, so closely linked with one person to another, that to fail to stand up for your own rights is a failure to stand up for those of your family, your friends, your neighbors (even though they're self-absorbed jerks in a W-plastered SUV) and the Republican family out in Nebraska who voted for W twice on good if blind faith.
This is the civic duty behind voting, as understood by me, one solitary 19-year-old from Southern California - it's not just standing up for your rights, it's standing up for everyone's rights. The Congressmen and Senators you elect represent, not just you, but all Americans - they just have a stronger interest in representing you in particular (or they should).
Something is seriously wrong, then, with American values. We can't care enough about our own rights to see that we keep them? This is just asking for a tyranny, be it Hitler-style fascism or a corpulent corporate theocracy.
And you know?
We might just get it.
Funny, how things come full circle, isn't it?