To the Democratic Party

I have read your missives and heard your speeches.  I feel the need to speak out.  There are many that wear the label of Democrat proudly.  I speak not of them.  I speak only of a small group of people that one word refer to as "the party leadership".

Let me state you have my vote.  As the current Constitution of the United States reads there are really only going to be two sides.  I do think this should be changed, but in the interim, the Republican party has doubled-down on its antiquated, misogynist, hate-filled rhetoric; and you are the opposition.

So, please, I beg you, stop trying to be the "middle".  Stop being harmless!

The election cycle of 2016 is still fresh in our minds.  I registered as a Democrat long enough to vote in the primary.  I had done so in 2008 as well.  In both cases, I wanted my voice heard.  In both cases, I saw an opportunity.  A candidate was on the ballot that had passion.  A candidate was on the ballot that brought a message.  A candidate was on the ballot that was not harmless.  In 2008, the end result was what I had voted for.  In 2016, it, obviously, was not.

The numbers were tallied and the nomination was given to Hillary Clinton.  Many have written and spoken about this.  She was a qualified diplomat and I very much think she would have made a good President.  However, the Democratic Party ticket amounted to two people who would describe themselves as "boring".  The words "Traditional" and "Conventional" were bandied about.  That was a recipe for disaster, and I honestly am not certain why more people didn't see it.

"Safe" and "conservative" are words that I do not align with.  I claim the labels "liberal" and "progressive" wholeheartedly and I believe the Democratic Party should as well. 

I receive request after request for money.  You don't need money, and you certainly don't need to start fundraising 3 months after an election.  You need a message.  You need to point out what could be.  People will donate to causes they believe in.  Give them something to believe in. 

People don't vote for harmless.  They may vote against harmful, and that may have the desired effect, but, mostly, they'll stay home.

It has been nearly a year since too many people stayed home.  It is time to decide how to move forward.  You have my vote.  Give me the opportunity to cast it for someone worth voting for.

Perspective and Perception

"Let's go to the top of the hill" I heard one child say to another.

"Hill?" I thought to myself and then looked in their direction of travel.  The part of the parking lot I was in did slope up towards another.  "Hill" might not have been the right word, but "ridge" or "incline" are both less common.  It isn't truly a street, although I believe it is recognized as such by some mapping systems.

I hopped in my car and also went up the "hill" and then out of the apartment complex and down the street.  Roughly a mile away, Tiffany's version of "I Think We're Alone Now" come on the radio.  I laughed in amazement.  Somewhere someone thought playing this in 2017 would encourage advertising revenue.  After laughing for about 15 seconds, I changed stations (or channels if that is the parlance you prefer).

I arrived at a Staples, initially went to the "Laser Cartridges" sign I could see from the entrance and then saw the printer cartridges along one wall with no distinct sign visible from the entrance.  I looked through my options.  The cartridges I was looking for had gone through a branding change in a vain attempt to convince customers something was improved.  I say vain in my case, perhaps someone else was enthused.  There was a package offering both the color and black cartridges and some "photo paper" for less than the combined price of the separate cartridges.  I have thrown out more "photo paper" than I have used, so I payed the extra markup.  I knew that 90% of the cost is markup in this case.  If I am being ripped off, the amount matters little.

I was then offered some type of "membership" or "rewards" twice.  I declined, twice, and noted that I didn't need a bag, again twice.  I took my leave and headed back home.  A station playing some Michael Jackson which I quickly switched from.  I returned home and walked my dog. On a patch of grass, I saw several pieces of sliced bread seemingly left there intentionally.  I could not think of a good reason ti do so.    

These perceptions were defined by my perspective.  This has caused many to believe (or at least state) that we define our own reality.  I would have thought that creation of machines that could perceive would have put an end to that, but it has not.  Perhaps some people do not believe that they perceive, only that they collect data.  I would say simply that we have an overdeveloped sense of our own "greatness" and move on.

The children, the programming directors of various radio stations, the young men working at a retail outlet were all had their own perspectives.  The fact that many of these perspectives seem to have commonalities is both a product of my own perspective and a product of the fact that the initial sensory input was similar because we exist in the same reality.  I believe that too many people are influenced by money, and so I see evidence of that.  I believe that we create more waste than we should and so try to avoid it.  I believe that the perspective of the small is limited and so I choose to recall evidence of that.  I didn't cause the children to reference "the hill" but I did notice it.  I think ill of the majority of pop music and so believe that more people should.  I think nostalgia is a destructive force and again feel that more people should.

I also believe that perception is far more powerful when multiple perspectives are taken into account.  I believe that we humans have the ability to modify our perspective.  I also believe that our perspectives are part of what defines us and perspective that is truly malleable can be mislead.

And so, Michael Jackson did have a profound impact on pop music, yet I prefer not to listen to his work.  Someone does remember Tiffany's music fondly, perhaps because it reminds them of a pleasant event, but it really has no place in radio play.  Many, if not most, people will buy the package  if they need both cartridges, and some may even use the "photo paper". I also believe that you only purchase ink at a Staples because you need to print something out that day and know that I only think of printer ink on those days.

And now back to perceiving the world around me.