Friday, August 1, 2008

politics and friendship

Most of my friends are Democrats, and most are enamored with Obama. It's odd, but I'm used to it. There's something odd about my world view. I have a very low view of government and politics. In fact, neither presidential candidate does it for me. I'm put out with McCain as well; it's just that I don't have visceral reaction of profound disgust when I see McCain. It seems that for a lot of people voting Democrat assuages their guilt for the situation our country is in and relieves them of the responsibility of getting personally involved. The problem is slightly bigger than the tax structure; it's a heart thing-- collective and individual. And, it's going to take us all getting involved.

This diatribe is the result of a late night conversation with J who lives west of me and forgets that I'm in a different time zone. I asked him what his thoughts were on the presidential race. And, I listened to his thoughts for 30 minutes. Rarely do I agree completely with J, but I always find him and his thought process fascinating. He's enamored with Obama. His favorite is actually Edwards, and I'm still friends with him. I love and respect him so much (and know it's mutual) that I can actually listen to him talk politics. I think I'm just not going to vote-- the mature and logical decision, I know. J says Obama needs my vote. I told him my not voting was in Obama's favor.

School news: I didn't meet my team teacher today, but I did meet the janitor and financial secretary. I bought some decorations and posters for my classroom but get a sinking feeling to think about how much it's going to cost to decorate the stinking room (it's going to cost several hundred dollars-- it's big and old). The chief told me to focus on the lesson plans-- the classroom is secondary. So, I'll focus on what I can do. It's part of being positive. Do what you can, and don't stew over what you have no control over. I need to model for the students, eh?

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