Pinging Knight

Last year, I did not feel that the Democrats could even come close to winning the presidency and it has been a pleasant surprise that they have gotten this far. I would have liked to have been surprised further, but it is not a particularly large disappointment. I did not expect the Democrats to win.

But, rather than adopting a defeatist attitude, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes of all time:

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.

Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird

It is not worth it to give up fighting for your values within the United States. Even if the goal seems unachievable, history is far more important as a source of inspiration for the future than it is a description of the past. If you feel an urge to withdraw from your cause because it feels hopeless, remember that you would be one less person that others could look up to. I was never very interested in politics until this election. In part, I have to thank the passion of Nick, Kate, Melissa, Emily, and the Dodsons for sparking some passion of my own—though, it certainly helped that Bush represents so much of what I am against.

As much as Bush, in my opinion, acts for entirely the wrong reasons, I don't think that he is stupid, ignorant, or brainwashed. Nor are many of his supporters. Even it were true, it's not a very good persuasive argument to say so. Not taking your opponents seriously is a great way to make them feel justified in ignoring you, and the lack of respect alienates any neutral parties who are considering both sides. A person loses credibility by being offensive or annoying. Our hopes must lie in the assumption that many of them are rational. Only then can honest debate happen and I am confident that the best side will eventually win, whether that be theirs or mine.

It also seems just a tad pointless to assume that the world is coming to an end as well. The United States has seen worse. It has seen slavery, a much more depressing lack of women's rights, and greater rampant racism than today. The world has seen worse. It has seen the rise of Hitler and the atrocity of the Holocaust. No, the world will (probably) not even come close to ending. The pendulum of time has perhaps swung to an unhappy extreme, but I feel that it will swing back again. People will once again realize that the freedom of America lies not only in its democratic process, but in its tolerance and protection of minority opinions and ways of life.

The path I see: we need to try to change the system from the bottom up. Something needs to be done to challenge voter apathy. So much of it seems to stem from the perception that a single person does not matter much. The presidential election receives the most attention because it is the single most important position in our government, but it is also very difficult for the average person to affect. Corporate interests, the duopoly of parties, the vast amount of misinformation… it's very easy to become apathetic with all that there is designed to discourage people from making a meaningful and intentional decision.

I think people are aiming too high. Citizenship takes as much practice as anything else. A pianist does not begin with a Rachmaninoff concerto. It might be important to see as an eventual goal, but reading notes and playing scales is far more useful at that level. I have been guilty of paying very little attention to local politics. It always seemed much less important, like a single note in a symphony. But notes arranged carefully form chords and melodies; it now occurs to me that it is vitally important to participate in local politics if I want to have an effect on a larger scale.

Speaking of larger scales, I have been impressed with Europe these last four years. The European Union has been a relatively beautiful example of cooperation and appears to be an actual force in the world, unlike the United Nations. Unifying so many different cultures is a difficult feat. The euro is symbolic of the Union's success. The Dutch recall of their minister's vote for the software patent directive proves that at least in one country, corporate interests do not always roll over the will of the common people. The EU's fine on Microsoft was weak, but at least a step in the right direction.

The story behind the Dutch recall is particularly amazing to me; I remember reading a post on kuro5hin.org (I think it was there) about how the post's author drove up to discuss the topic with a member of the Dutch parliament. The member promised to bring the topic up with others in parliament. The author felt that nothing would actually be done, but that he had performed his duty as a citizen and that people needed to be informed about what was happening.

A few days later, this headline appeared in various news sources: "Support for Software Patents Recalled".