Rekindling the Fire

Someone my first year of college called me a flaming liberal. While I think that was a bit of an exaggeration because my image of a flaming libera was someone who went goes out and leads protests (which I never did), I do remember the time when I got really riled up and impassioned about things.

Well that feeling all came back last night. After spending years politely smiling at friends who got really upset by things they read or saw in the news, I found myself once again, yelling at my tv. It was a Anti-Webb, Allen-Sponsored campaign attack ad that pretty much said that Webb was sexist. Now, I don't know too much about Webb but I do know about Allen and I just find it downright hypocritical. (I won't even start about how much disdain I have for Allen, it would require a whole entry). The ad was just so nasty that I feel like I got my first dose of what a Rovian ad must be like, and let me say I was repulsed. I don't care which side does it (I just happened to see a Republican one first), I hate them.

It was a strange feeling to feel politically alive again. Over the years, I felt like I lost a little bit of my idealism. Dare I say I got a little jaded from being in the thick of politics. I realized that the best candidates don't always win, money is almost everything in politics, and that so many decisions are made with re-election in mind. While being pragmatic is good (and I personally think a sign of growing up), perhaps I accepted a lot of things too easily. Probably the only way things move forward and improve is if someone is a big dreamer and doesn't merely accept the status quo. That person mixes idealism with pragmatism to get big things done.