Today I wake up to find a map of my country that is mostly red. I find that my president this afternoon will once again take responsibility (in a press conference in a few minutes) for something that is not entirely his fault – that red map. And so I’m going to take responsibility, too.
I voted yesterday, just as I do every single time I am given the opportunity (I am out there on primary day as well, and I vote every year, not every two or every four). But that was the extent of my political activism this year. I was too worn down by more political commercials than I can count, too tired of hearing about it for the past year, and I didn’t do everything I could. I didn’t make my own get out the vote calls as the Obama administration and MoveOn and the Democrats asked me to do. Instead, I posted on Twitter and Facebook, and let it go at that. I didn’t even post my get out the vote message on this blog. I was complacent, I relied on social media to do my job for me, and I woke up in a red country. I’m sorry for that, and I will do better next time.
Now, Republicans, I’m willing to listen to what you have to say. I’m eager to see how you think you can do better. But if by better, you mean “Take away the healthcare that gave many of my friends with pre-existing conditions a chance to see doctors,” if you mean “Call everyone who doesn’t agree with us Socialists and Nazis and Communists and Hitler,” if you mean “Get rid of the things Obama has been able to do in the two years he’s had to clean up the mess it took Asshat Dubya eight years to make,” well then, you’re on notice. I’m here, I’m not leaving, and I’ve been reminded that it’s not just my civic duty to vote, it’s my civic duty to fight for what I believe in, because no one else should be expected to do that for me. I’m going to start doing that, just like a MOTHERFUCKING ADULT!
(Credit to Allie Brosh for the last phrase, even if I didn’t use it in her original context.)
