It all just hit home.

[ZombieNixon]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4344582

I just read this thread. For the first time in nearly 5 years, I cried. It all just hit home. I'd been looking at political activity as something fun to get me through the day and to pad my resume with, but it's so much more. I don't have any siblings. I only have one friend in the Army, and he doesn't ship out until next year. I've never known the anxiety associated with a loved one placed in harms way. It's unlikely that I'll ever be standing over someone's flag-shrouded body screaming at the sky, as Cindy Sheehan and Gary Qualls must have. I've just been cruising through the days believing that things will just work themselves out in the end and I can just concentrate on my own little world and do what's best for me.

I volunteered for Kerry's campaign last year. I wrote articles for the paper. I guess I kind of looked at anti-Bushism as sort of a game, a way to win friends and influence people. I feel like I need to do something more, but I don't know what I can do yet. I'm only 18, about to enter college. I don't have a career or much money. I'm not sure how I can contribute to things like Cindy Sheehan's effort in Texas.

I know I'm not being very eloquent, but I can't really come up with the words to describe what an enlightenment I've just had. At this point, all I can think is "God," and wonder how everything went so wrong. Right now, I don't feel as if I'll ever laugh again.

[flakey_foont]

1. Maybe it is the hope that you can laugh again

at some point that can give you the inner strength to continue do what you have been doing, ,,,that if the world is made even slightly better through the efforts of people like Cindy Sheehan, that at some point, the laughter will come again,, perhaps more joyfully and have more meaning

[skids]

2. Don't stop laughing.

...it's bad for your health.

[Lars39]

3. ~

:hug:

[volitionx]

4. Be Prepared...

Be prepared in case you get drafted after a possible attack on Iran. Bushbaby can't invade Iran without a draft. You're draft age. You will be needed to fight for the Global Corporate Empire.

Give some serious thought to what you'll do if that happens.

Make your plans detailed, with contingency arrangements as backups.

The fascists who took over this country will NOT just give it up to Democrats in 2008. The Democrats will LOSE the presidential election. A fascist will win. We'll be waging war forever until people get their shit together.

So hang tough and get your ducks in a row. Know what you're going to do in the event of a draft, BEFORE all of that happens.

[Erika]

5. The democrats will turn this country around in 2006

More and more states are insisting on paper trails of Bush's Diebold machine friends. The Bushbots may have to live with the results of a true election for the first time in many years.

[demodonkey]

33. Voter Verified Paper BALLOTS with MANDATORY AUDIT... or we LOSE AGAIN

"paper trails" means nothing; most of the 2004 machines HAD internal paper trails. READ MY SIG, which is really ANDY STEPHENSON'S WORDS.

VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS and then we have to audit them. And watch like hawks before the election, at the polls on election day, and after the election.

And then pray, if you're so inclined.

[BeHereNow]

7. AGREE COMPLETELY!

My kid is 18 too, just about to head off to college
in Chicago-
You are both cannon fodder to the neocons and must
start to document CO status IMMEDIATELY.
Join the nearest Quaker Church.
BHN

[ZombieNixon]

19. Holy shit. I'm about to head off to Chicago.

Where's she going to school.

On second thoughts, you're not my mother, are you?

Edited to fake a certain amount of foresight and gender sensitivity that I don't have.

[BeHereNow]

22. Mine is a "she"

she is going to he School of the Art Institute of Chicago-
And you?
What school are you going to?
How great would it be if you were headed there too?
We arrive in Chicago on the 23rd of August at midnight-
I will be there with her for a week,
PM me if you will be around then too!
BHN

[BeHereNow]

25. Oh my God! Do I know you?

My daughter has a friend in NM going to the Art Institute
this fall- I just looked at your profile out of curiousity and
all I can say is, HMMMM- you sound a lot like him.
Are you in a band with a kid named Jake by any chance?
BHN

[ZombieNixon]

28. Sorry, no

I was in a band (we broke up since we're all going different places), but I don't think I know anyone named Jake.

[ZombieNixon]

27. I'm going to DePaul University, so no

We're leaving NM on the 29th and plan to arrive there on 9/1 or maybe 8/31 if my dad decides to flout traffic laws. We're going to stay with friends in Elmhurst and I move into the dorms on 9/3.

I had a really weird thought while I was waiting for your reply. Your avatar made me wonder if you're "Desi" like me. My roomy's also Indian, so for brief moment I thought you might have been my roommate's mother. That would have been really creepy.

[BeHereNow]

30. ROLF! Not to worry-

I am not your room mate's mother, although my
daughter's friends would tell you there could be
a far worse fate. I am actually known as the "cool" mom.
An advocate for young people, you might say.
BHN

[karlrschneider]

13. Your advice was way more pragmatic than mine was. But I think and HOPE

your prognosis is wrong. But welcome to DU in any case. We may well hang together or separately, it seems. :D

[JanusAscending]

32. WRONG!

Don't listen to this guy. Bush won't need a "draft" He's moving the troops from Germany closer to Iran , and his plans are to use "nukes". and spy drones. Don't let this guy scare you. Trust in TRUTH. It will "set you free" You are very young yet, and it's fun and easy to get "caught up" in the excitement of an election. When we're ROBBED of a victory it hurts. I worked my heart out for Kerry too. I'll gladly do it again when he runs in '08 !!!!! It takes time. I remember back when Pres. Jimmy Carter was beat by Reagan. I was unhappy and depressed until Bill Clinton won the presidency back. I'd give anything to have those 8 wonderful years back!! (monica be damned)!!! We'll help you "fight the good fight"!!! Doesn't it make you fell good about yourself to realize that you do have deep fellings and emotions? Proves you're human and on the right side.:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. You will laugh

but what yuo feel is fear to a point

Now as others have said, be prepared for thigns are gonna get far worst, and no this is not a game... never has been a game....

[MuseRider]

8. I had no idea

that you are only 18!

OK, here you go. You HAVE been doing things. Sometimes small things become very large (Cindy Sheehan for one example). You have written articles for the paper. Do you have any idea how many people that may have started thinking? No you don't but I would guess quite a few. Sometimes that is all it takes.

Laugh and be happy. Really. You can't fight this if you are forever sad and worried. Cultivate that little streak of optimism, you will need it. And always remember, what you are doing may seem small to you but to someone or maybe lots of someone's it is a very big thing.

[karlrschneider]

9. You remind me of me 40 years ago and I take more than a bit of comfort

knowing there are clever kids like you with the guts to be iconoclastic.
But do laugh, you have to or you will go insane. Gather together with you a friend or a group of them, sally forth to a body of water and go skinny dipping...eat a flower, but smell it first! Never Give UP!
As long as you are alive, BE alive! And never forget:

Go placidly amid the noise and waste,
And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons unless you are in need of sleep.
Rotate your tires.

Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself,
And heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys.
Know what to kiss and when.
Consider that two wrongs never make a right,
But that three lefts do.

Wherever possible put people on "HOLD".
Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment,
And despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer maintenance.
Remember the Pueblo.

Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle and mutilate.
Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI.
Exercise caution in your daily affairs,
Especially with those persons closest to you;
That lemon on your left for instance.

Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls,
Would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love therefore; it will stick to your face.

Carefully surrender the things of youth: birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan,
And let not the sands of time get in your lunch.
For a good time, call 606-4311.

Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog
Is finally getting enough cheese;
And reflect that whatever fortunes may be your lot,
It could only be worse in Sioux City.

You are a fluke of the Universe.
You have no right to be here, and whether you can hear it or not,
The Universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore make peace with your God whatever you conceive him to be,
Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin.

With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal,
The world continues to deteriorate.
Never Give up.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ok, I added a word in that last line, so sue me. :D

[ZombieNixon]

11. OK, you made me giggle.

Thanks.

[karlrschneider]

15. That was my first goal. Now I want you to go out and piss off some Repugs

:D

[ZombieNixon]

17. Oy vey.

I have to pack and clean my car and my room. I move to Chicaaahgo in three weeks!

[karlrschneider]

21. Clean the car. Mom will handle the room.

:D :D :D :evilgrin:

[ZombieNixon]

29. I dunno if I want Mom to handle to room.

Even I don't know what's evolved under the bed by now. ;)

[kestrel91316]

16. I don't think the youngsters will get the Desiderata joke, lol

[karlrschneider]

23. Maybe not, but they oughta get the message.

:D :evilgrin:

[kestrel91316]

24. I sure hope so.

[uppityperson]

10. I have these moments too. I know what you mean, if that helps.

I go on, do my work, write letters, talk with people, feel sometimes like it is all just a big game then something happens that brings it home and makes it real that it is not just a game, I am not nuts or paranoid or wrong for being afraid or sad or any of that, that things are really not good and stand a good chance of getting worse. I call it a "fuck" moment (remember those "aha" moments yrs ago, when a revalation would strike and you were suppposed to go "aha"? Sort of like that but it strikes me that yes, it really is that bad).

Then I stop and get off the internets and DU and no news not even radio and take a break and go do something else that is just for feeling good. Kittens are good to have. We got a kitten last fall, November, which really helped us get through the winter.

And then I come back and try again.


Edited to add more. I just reread that you are 18. I am 50. Things are bad. You don't know what will happen to any of us. But we are in it together, and we do help each other. How you can help is to keep reading and talking and join protests if they happen where you can get to them and VOTE. Always vote. Even if they steal your vote. And get your friends and acquaintences to vote. Do small things like this. Small things make a difference. And go to college and learn and think and explore because we need people who can truly think and figure things out. Don't be afraid. That is the main advice I can give anyone and keep reminding myself. I had a cousin whom I loved dearly who was just not afraid and even though he died recently of a disease, I still think of him often and remind myself to not be afraid. Peace to you.

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. Don't sell yourself short, you are very eloquent!

I am sorry at 18, you have to experience this. You found empathy for those in need of it and as painful as it is, for you, it's a good thing to experience. It lets us know we are human.

[manic expression]

14. Why despair?

So you don't think you can change the world? What you can be is yourself. What you can change is your destiny. Do what is right, and that IS the world, and MORE.

Volunteer for a party (any left-ish will do), get a group of friends and do small demonstrations (they matter just as much as the big ones), do free-way blogging. The measure of change that comes about your actions is not important, but the meaning of what you do is everything. The White Rose didn't *really* accomplish much at all, but they are still looked upon as heroes today. The protests against Vietnam were isolated until the draft, but their efforts were great in showing the truth of what was happening, as well as the character of the individuals involved. The Unions in the gilded age were all but stamped out, but again, that does not matter; they fought for what was right, and that will always make all the difference.

Don't forget everyone that's been in the place you're in before you. Look down the annals of history to see those with us. From the White Rose, to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, to those kids who stood up against racism and water cannons in the south, to the people who defied society itself during the 60's, to everyone around the world who is trying to make things better, to you; YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

[ZombieNixon]

18. OK. I do often feel alone here in Freeper Hell

I guess Chicago should be better.

[uppityperson]

20. way better. Still conservatives there, but a bunch of good people too

especially college ones.

[fooj]

31. My suggestion...don't let yourself get apathetic. It's good to care.

At your age it's easy to "overlook the unpleasant"...you should take comfort in knowing that you're already ahead of the game. We'll get through this together. It's all about solidarity.

Peace.

[Just Me]

26. If you viewed it merely as a "game",...I can understand your reaction.

Human beings are impacted by your participation.

However, laughter and joy is ALWAYS part of this journey. I laughed that Cindy went off campus to have a beer. I felt joy at people allowing themselves to SHARE loss.