Where The Wild Things Are

I never thought that I would see Cat Stevens and Ozzy Osbourne sharing the same stage, but I did, and I have Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to thank for that. Halloween weekend I attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. This was my first rally here in DC and it certainly did not disappoint. I must say, it was wonderful to be surrounded by a whole lot of people engaging in civil discourse. It was refreshing and hopeful.

I'm about to get serious here.

My political awakening occurred when I was living in Argentina 7 years ago as a college junior. Up until that point, I didn't have much of a political perspective other than what I had learned from my family and the environment in which I was raised, which tended to be more conservative. I moved to Argentina in March of 2003, mere months before the United States declared war. This was/is not a popular war abroad, and Argentines are quite an opinioned bunch. This means that I received a whole lot of grief due to my nationality. It was tough and lonely. I even told one particularly riled up cab driver that I was Canadian. Oh the shame.

It took me a while to realize why they cared so much, why it was so damn personal to these Argentines. Not that long ago, in the late 70s and early 80s, Argentina suffered through the Dirty War at the hands of the Argentine government. In an effort to root out and exterminate political opposition and subversive groups, the military dictatorship went on a massive killing spree. Thousands of people were "disappeared," never to be heard from again. Their fate was unknown, although it undoubtedly held a gruesome tale of torture and pain. This is a legacy that has lived on in the collective memory of Argentina, along with so many unanswered questions about a disappeared brother, or father, or daughter. For this reason, they are now fiercely protective of their rights and civil liberties. And understandably so. You would be hard pressed to find an Argentine that doesn't have a well formed opinion about their political leaders. These political freedoms are not to be taken for granted.

So, after a while, whenever I heard the inevitable, Are you for or against Bush? at the beginning of every introduction and conversation, I made sure that my first reaction wasn't anger. I thought about it. I thought about what it means to me to be an American. I thought about the enormous responsibility it is to be an active citizen and participant in our democracy. I thought about how I felt on September 11th. I thought about what demands I should place on my elected representatives. I thought about what I wanted for myself and what I wanted my society to look like. Over time, I came to my own conclusions. And I'm sure you have come to yours.

That's the beauty of being American. You and I can't be persecuted for our political opinions and we can make ourselves heard through the channels of democracy. This is no small thing.

We are living in the midst of a political crisis (and I don't mean the Republican turnover in the House). Partisan politics rule Washington and it seems that people have forgotten how to engage each other respectfully. We need to recognize how lucky we are and start protecting the integrity of our democracy. This will not be done by shutting out the left or right or through personalized attacks. This will only come with consensus and compromise.

So, in the words of Jon Stewart: Don't be douchey.