The Vorlons will not save us

By the time the avalanche has started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote.
- Vorlon Ambassador Kosh Naranek, Babylon 5

I used one of my other favorite Kosh sayings earlier this month, so I thought it was time to bring this one out. (And hey, looks like the Lurker's Guide is back.)

Steve Gillard writes about what we can do now that Bush is going to be with us a while longer, and it does not involve moving to Canada.

It's like Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. said on Utah Beach "well, we might as start the war from right here, the supplies will have to catch up to us no matter where we are."

We need to start the fight close to home. In our lives and in our local politics. We can't just focus on federal offices. State and local matter more, right now. Every race we win, the more we learn, the better we get. And we need to start now. Today. Who is that school board candidate who needs your help. Where is that councilman who has progressive ideas? We need to start from where ever we are and work from there. Idealism is our enemy, reality and practicality are our friends. No race is too small to learn from, no office too unimportant to win. We need to use what we learned this year and take it home, then take those lessons and use them in 2006.

This will be neither easy nor quick. It will take work and effort and some disappointment. But every time we act, we learn and we help make the America we want. And that is the goal we're striving for. Not just winning one election for one man.

For now, the best thing we can do is take care of ourselves. Being pissed off about the red states or the South or the Pharisees for four years will kill you. I know. It's already taking a toll on me. My NaNo novel is barely started and I have zero motivation to get started to finish it.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day, when on the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent, with the theory that the War to End All Wars was over. They were wrong. The wars are never over, they just change players and costumes a bit. It just took a while to get some new players, as they'd done a pretty good job at wiping out most of a generation. (For an example of how fucking horrible WW I was, I'd recommend John Keegan's The Face of Battle, which I had to read twice in college. It was more depressing the second time.)

I will have the day off. I think I may take some time after I try and winterize the house and see if I can find something fun to do. We should put the libertine back in liberal. The conservatives hate fun. So besides having fun and refocusing, take care of yourself.

I am reminded that the best advice I heard after 9/11 was, "Wear your seatbelt. You're much more likely to be in a car accident than a terrorist attack." So brush your teeth, wear a seatbelt, wear a condom, get plenty of rest, and learn a new skill or first aid. Just don't do all those things at once.