29 Days Later ...

... and here I am once again.  I've been rehearsing, and am now performing in, a production of Paddy Cheyevsky's "The Tenth Man" for a great deal of the past two months.  A rewarding experience artistically, a stressful one in virtually every area of my life otherwise--I've been rehearsing/performing nearly six days a week for the past eight weeks.  Just typing that thought exhausts me!  And, in at least one respect, it has been nearly tragic--a key cast member contracted West Nile Virus a week before we opened.  He's hospitalized now and on a ventilator; your thoughts and/or prayers on his behalf are appreciated.

None of this, of course, has been conducive to blogging.  Which is a pity, because there's a lot to talk about, especially in the political world.  And, if you're of the political bent that I am, it's mostly not good.

As I write this, there seems to be a better-than-average chance that the GOP will take over one, and perhaps both, houses of Congress.  History in the form of 1994 appears to be ready to repeat itself (although this time we got health care and financial reform done first, along with two not-too-terrible Supreme Court appointees).  Already, speculation has appeared in the media centered around two questions:   how did Obama and the Democrats get here, and what will he do now with Congress controlled by the opposition?

There will be plenty of time to answer those questions later, if reality demands it.  We're not there yet.  And, God willing, we won't get there at all.  But what disturbs me the most right now is the extent to which those of us on the progressive end of the spectrum enable it--by staying at home and sulking.  This is the behavior of children, not adults.  Do you think the GOP is where it is today because it stayed home and sulked after 2008?  Far from it.  They acted as if it was a minor setback in the larger battle for achieving its goals.

Guess what?  We need to learn to do exactly the same thing.  All the things we did in 2008--organize, fundraise, call, write, march--are things we need to keep on doing, win or lose in November.  We have better ideas, and represent people who deserve to see them become the law of the land.

Above all, VOTE, and make sure others do the same.  You are responsible for the results in a democracy, whether you like it or not.  And history rewards doers, not doubters and sulkers.  Staying home is exactly what the Karl Roves of the world want you to do; it's the only way they ever win.

Don't hand them a victory.  If Fate decrees them the winners, then make them tear victory out of your hands.  It will make you that much more ready for the fight that has to start the next morning.