Now, if I would have only lied to the college board about that keg……..hmmmmmmmm ?

As much as I loved my Quincy years, I often think about the things I missed by not going to a bigger school. It’s possible I would have become political in different surroundings. The only thing I knew about politics was that Ed was a Democrat and Rich from Mass. was a Republican.

If I went to a bigger school, I also might have picked up a guitar sooner, and with more purpose, and joined a band. That’s my true regret.

Had I been smarter, I would have gone to grad school in a big city after graduation, instead of going to grad school in Springfield after I already had a family.

Someday I’m going to write about why QC was such a great place to go to school. But first, I have to get beyond what I missed.

Thanks for commenting,
Dan

To BLT: I logged on right at noon and was able to get right-center floor seats in probably the 30th row (they go AA-PP and then A-whatever, and we’re in row D). A friend of ours from here is going with us as well. I can’t wait. Their full-length album comes out April 22, as well. Glad you guys got tickets; you’ll have to wave to us. I’ll be the normal-looking guy with a woman with impossibly long, curly hair and a stylish guy probably wearing a suit jacket over a button-down.

To Nancy: I will remember all of Murray’s many duties next time I question him. I can only hope that the “Doggie Bounce” fame will not have gone to his head, and he will rejoin our fair heroes in Season Two. And I will, of course, provide extensive details of the Chicago show on Unpainted Huffhines. It’s part of an unofficial rounds-making for “FotC” folks, as the Mrs. and I saw Arj Barker (Dave) do stand-up in SF on our honeymoon. Sorry that you and Rock Rob can’t make it.

Since then I’ve seen how most elections and actions by government are the result of people choosing not to do anything. Right now many people involved in political campaigns (below the Presidential level) are motivated by what they can get out of it financially for themselves. Whether its Bush’s former top campaign contributor Enron wanting deregulation, the Chamber of Commerce wanting lower taxes for businesses, a corporate polluter that doesn’t want to be forced to clean up their mess, someone wanting a local construction contract, or someone who wants a patronage job. Some people involved in either party in Springfield could care less about the issues. They picked one of two teams that are basically working for the same thing: getting more taxpayer funds for their side.

So what happens when those are the only people involved? We see things like the recent Metro Sanitary Board controversy that happened because no one bothered to pay attention. We see people who already have millions lining their pockets at taxpayer expense because no one is watching. The great thing about cynicism (for them) is that it makes honest people stay away from the process which then makes it easier for the corrupt to continue doing all of the lousy things that people are cynical about.

And yes, part of it is social. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that motivation. It’s good to bring people together in a community and make new friends. Campaigns are one of the few times I see people who usually work on very different political issues come together for a common project. Its a good thing to have people who usually work seperately on the environment, unions, peace, civil rights or other issues all in the same room working together and getting to know eachother. I’ve seen a few losing campaigns that did a lot of good for the community because of the long term relationships and connections formed.

And yes, any candidate is going to disappoint you sooner or later. Even my favorite elected officials have done things I have to shake my head at. But what keeps me going is that every once in a while I can point at something good and remember that I was one part of making that happen and maybe I’ll be able to help make something else good happen down the road.

Appears to be the epitome of the nut cases who blindly follow a person or cause. Which is what I think Dan was, to some degree, hinting at in his blog.”

I know some people will dismiss me writing this because I’m liberal but I think what you’re describing here is characteristic of conservatism in particular. Most people who get deeply involved in issue oriented politics are motivated by something that happened to them personally. There’s a union drive at their job, they wanted something in their neighborhood fixed, they realized a war they served in was unjust, or someone wanted to build a shopping mall on the wetlands near their house, etc.

And on the other side there are always political movements that define a weaker “other” to blame and be angry at like the guy yelling at a Chinese woman. I see it every time someone in Springfield complains about illegal immigrants. How many illegal immigrants are there in central Illinois and who exactly are they harming? I always ask for one example of how their lives are worse because of illegal immigrants and no one has an answer yet. Its just the latest weaker group to define as the “them” since hating black people isn’t socially acceptable anymore. The KKK and fascism are obvious, more extreme examples but they use the same psychological tactics to manipulate people.

Anyway, I think its important to distinguish between political movements people are engaged in to improve the lives of themselves and others and movements based on anger and demonizing others. And while I can think of a few historical examples of authoritarian left movements that relied on demonizing a group, its usually extremist conservative ones that rely on motivating people based on anger against a smaller, weaker group.

While our family cheers for the Cardinals, its tough during years of so-called “transition” when they don’t play as well as the year before. For us, going to one game at Busch each year is a family tradition – Cards winning or losing – and something we look forward to experiencing with the kids. I can’t say that I watch or listen to every game all season long, but having that score to check this time of year is always the basis for an “Yeeeess!” or an “Dang it” in our house.

Its not as community-service based as supporting a political candidate but it does provide a sense of belonging and something other than reality t.v. to talk about!

Yeah,that sounds about right.

UH

I hope you’ll report back with lots of details from the show. I’ll put money on a ridiculous number of Mel lookalikes wearing pastel colored all-weather jackets and t-shirts with pictures of the boys on them.

Sometime when you’re in the neighborhood, stop in and watch our DVR’d HBO special of the Conchords (we didn’t catch it from the very beginning but have quite a bit of the show taped.) The live versions of “Albie the Racist Dragon” and “Boom” are fantastic. Does Bret remind you a bit of one of the Sancho boys?