Early voting

Lately I've been spending a lot of time in my happy place, downloading and listening to music, mostly Beatles, that reminds me of happier times. I guess this is because I have a bunch of troubling personal issues, health and financial, but it's more than that.

There's something so depressing in realizing a truth the Trump presidency has revealed. A substantial percentage of Americans are completely and voluntarily run by what are commonly thought of as the worst impulses .... hate (racism/misogyny), greed (tax cuts/environmental deregulation/trashed social programs), and fear (Muslim ban/separation of families at border/the wall).

It's not surprising. We grew up, evolved, on a planet where survival seemed a zero sum game. A philosophy teacher I had used to say that out commitment to live was our commitment that something else must die. What we've learned over time, though, is that the opposite can also be true - there can be win/win situations in life where cooperation and even self-sacrifice yield rewards both practical and intangible. It's a choice about how you want to view things and what kind of person you want to be.

My early voting ballet has arrived in the mail. I can think of no better way to exemplify that choice than by voting. My vote will be for Democrats: for the environment, for children at the border, for people with pre-existing health conditions, for the elderly, the poor, for women and for civil rights.

And now for some music :) ...