Danika Dinsmore

Author / Educator / Activist

politix

We Interrupt this Book Tour for a Political Rally

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First – I may just be the worst documenter of my own book tours ever. Seriously, I have failed to take photos at every single event except one, so I’ve sent a note out to find some photos and will hopefully put something together later.

Second – I rarely post about politics on this blog, simply because that’s not what my blog is about. I have my political leanings and it is not my intent to get into the position of having to defend myself (nor for my readers to have to defend theirs either!).

However, on my day off in Madison, WI, I just happened to be here while Barack Obama was having his political rally and Bruce Springsteen was opening up for him. For the price of FREE, how could I pass that up!

Here’s a taste from the rally.

Walking toward the capitol at 6:30 AM (and I still didn’t make it to the front)

Heading toward the stage on Martin Luther King Drive.

Eventually, the sun comes out on the crowd of 200,000 people (pretty good considering the population of Madison is 237,000).

About as close as I could get (without being rude to the nice Madisonians. Madisonites?)

Waiting with a fellow rally member.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t8kEiZYDJA]

3 1/2 hours (and 6 speeches) later, the Boss regales us with his “campaign song.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET5kQCGa6JU]

Final stages of waiting for President Obama.

Thanks goodness for large screens. 🙂


[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwq8rPHqJw]

(forgive my creative spelling of MADISON on this video – lol)

A young democrat. I tried to barter many things for his hat, but he wouldn’t give it up. This kid was a hoot.

Luckily, I found my own hat.

Me and the Wisconsin Cheese-Head delegate.

Now go out and get your vote on!

If this is socialism… call me a socialist…

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Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.

How can we expect the next generation of children to live peacefully and joyfully on this earth, when they can’t even trust us to nourish them, and their planet, properly?

I believe every child on this earth deserves to be fed every day. I believe every child should, if they need to, sleep with a roof over their heads. When they are ill, their parents should be able to get free medical help for them. And they should be able to get as much education as they need to pursue their career, at no expense to them. They should be fed, stomach and mind.

(I also believe they should participate in other activities that feed the soul, but I won’t go there just yet)

How is this possible?

It IS possible if people would begin to think as a collective, not as individual egos. We are so busy being hurt. Once we realize we are all made up of the same cosmic dust, we will let go and love each other in the way we were meant to.

But letting go of the ego is very difficult. The ego is tricky. It makes you believe you are made up of a bunch of things that aren’t you. All the ego wants is to be right, and I see so many people who’d rather be right than be happy. I’m sometimes one of them, I see it all the time… although it’s happening less and less now that I’m more conscious of it.

I attribute this to many things, but a great place to start is with Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth. I’m reading it for a second time and it’s feeding me in all the right places.

political rant (a little all over the road)

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I don’t often get into arguments with people who have different politics than I do. I find it exhausting. Perhaps I get too emotional around it all… but the thing is, we’ll never change each others minds, so why bother. That doesn’t mean I’m not politically active or I don’t enjoy a healthy debate. My rants normally take the form of poetry.

But I finally have to say something to the right wing in the U.S…

This tea party thing (sponsored by FOX “news”)… you know, I take no issue with a protest. Protest your hearts out. Just don’t be hypocritical when you do it. When we were all protesting the president we didn’t vote for, we were being “unpatriotic” and aiding the terrorists! When you’re protesting, it’s your duty! Now you’re all you have to listen to us, we’re mad! Well, we were mad, too. But you lost this time around, and as John Stewart says, it’s supposed to taste like a sh*tburger.

I also think it’s irresponsible for FOX “news” reporters to go around calling President Obama a fascist. Especially when they don’t even know what the word means. They’ve also called him a socialist… in the same sentence! Which is it you nitwits? They’re two different things. Fascists are anti-liberal/anti-socialist as much as they are anti-capitalist.

One protester was holding a sign of an Obama hitler. Hello? Hitler was a fascist and totally against democracies and socialism or anything claiming that all working people deserved equal reward. Hitler persecuted the communists, who waged war WITH the U.S. against the Nazis…

When they accuse Obama of being a socialist, I always laugh, though. For one thing, I’m more of a socialist than Obama will ever be. Secondly, the fact that the word “socialist” is used to frighten people, like they’re going to lose all their STUFF!  Socialism isn’t evil any more than capitalism is. The thing is that people have to make either system work and the problem with people is that we’re human.

(Besides, the U.S. already has some social welfare programs. Did you know that part of your taxes pays for books that anyone can get for FREE from the library? It’s true! We’ve got to stop this, you don’t want to pay for poor people’s books, do you? Let them buy their own books!)

I find it so odd that the right wing think reaching out to other world leaders, collaboration, and taking care of all the citizens of your country is a weak and bad thing. Individuals are not islands. But that’s the pervasive attitude of many Americans.

The U.S. is extremely ego-centric. There’s a great sense of adventure and individualism, but there’s also this sense of self-entitlement and of “me against you.”  It’s every-man-and-woman-for-him-and-herself-gotta-protect-your-STUFF-don’t-touch-my-STUFF! Why would I want to help that lazy guy who lost his house or that fat dude who had a heart attack? There’s this attitude that everyone is soley responsible for their own success… and if you’re not successful, well then you’re just lazy.

If you want to read a super book about how individuals are not the sole makers of their success, check out Malcolm Gladwell’s book OUTLIERS.  It demonstrates how people succeed through the opportunities given to them by others, and through the circumstances that lead to those opportunities.

I think a country is only as healthy as its least fortunate individuals. We should raise each other up. That’s how I envision a proper community working. We would be stronger for it.