This isn't anything earth-shaking or worthy of a "BREAKING" banner. Rather, it's a way to pass what has been a fairly quiet and slow Sunday here in the Northeast. (And it's a chance for some good music to be shared with the DKos readership.)
Over the last couple of years that I've been coming here to read and learn, and get my snark-quotient to it's minimum daily requirement levels, I have come to the conclusion that I don't have the "fire-in-the-belly" or the amazing writing and intellect that seems to be the norm here. At times I am rather intimidated by the analytical abilities of the regular posters. And so I lurk and learn, and laugh and cry over the postings that have become a necessary part of my day.
In the past couple of months, I tried a small experiment designed to see if there really is a life without DKos. Partly it was done because my husband and kids told me in the nicest possible way that I seemed to have become addicted to all things political, the color orange and something called "pooties".
The other part was caused by the realization of how totally disgusted I was that even after the November elections, things in the real world weren't any better. This country's administration hasn't made any appreciable changes, the Constitution is in tatters, our standing as a global leader has been severely undercut and We, the people are not being listened to when we say that we must get our troops out of Iraq, and that's barely the tip of the iceberg. So I took a small sabbatical from being around the internet world of politics and analysis of politics. My thinking was that whatever I think or do doesn't really make a difference in the long run politically so perhaps I should find something else to do with all the time that I spent on the political "tubes".
In January, while on a trip to California, my husband and I went to a Dave Bromberg concert. Mr. Bromberg has been on my top 20 list of musicians since I was in junior high - the man is an amazing musician. Apparently he has been busy over the last 20 years or so honing his skills as one of the premier hand-made violin appraisers in the world. The chance to see him on stage was something that I couldn't miss. The concert that we saw was wonderful - and it gave us a chance to hear a group called Angel Band. Mr. Bromberg's wife Nancy is a member of this trio, and is a songwriter as well as an amazing singer. She introduced a new song that she said was written out of frustration with the country being at war - and it's written from a 'pissed-off mother's viewpoint". She said that as a parent, she feels that it's part of our jobs to keep not just our own children, but everyone's children safe. And keeping them safe means that we don't send them off to war. At the concert intermission, I had the chance to speak with Nancy Josephson about her new song - and I introduced myself as "another pissed-off mother". She asked me what on earth we could do as p-o'ed mothers, and I while I realize that it was a rhetorical question, it got me to thinking about what a middle-class, middle-aged mother could do. The song "We Are Shepherds" can be heard by clicking on the link. Please give it a listen - this song made me realize why I keep coming back to this site.
Okay, so this was long way to get to the point of this diary or musing if you would rather call it that. As a human being who happens to be a mother, who has to work, who is firmly convinced that this country has been on the wrong track since 2000, and who has always thought of herself as a cynic, but is finding that age has brought out a certain glass-half-full attitude - I have come to the conclusion that I have to stay connected to what is going on politically. It's part of my job as a parent. And that being the case, it's good to know that there are a lot of people out there who are really working hard to make the changes that will allow our best resources, our kids, to have a future. Even though it seems pretty small potatoes, every letter that I write to my congress people, every petition that I sign, and every discussion that I've had over the last 7 years as to why this country must get back to it's Constitutional roots, has made a little bit of a difference. And much of that goes back to this place - it's given me a jumping off point to being able to shoot off my mouth. And I guess I've found that while there is life without DKos, it's not nearly as entertaining and educational. Thanks.