politics

So far, I've tried to stay away from heady issues on my blog. I've seen it as a chance to escape all the readings and thinking I'm doing as part of grad school and remind myself of the other parts of life and other pieces of who I am. But sometimes you have to tie those things together or you start to feel very inconsistent and scattered among the different arenas of life. I'd rather try to be consistent even at the expense of levity. I have to say I'm tired of the political season already and we have nearly a year to go before the election. My difficulty with politics as they are now is not that they are "political" and that policy is as much about relationships and constituent blocks as it is about coming up with genuine answers to questions. I do wish that would change but I think I've come to accept that it won't. What I really wish, though, is that there was a party that spoke to the middle. Instead of allowing wedge issues to rule Party agendas and carry both to the extreme position in order to capture a base, I wish someone would realize there may very well be more to won by focusing on the center and those issues that connect constituencies rather than divide them. At this point in my life, I have to consider myself an independent. Not an I can't decide and don't really care independent, but an I really do care but neither party addresses issues completely enough to choose sides independent. Both have things to offer and both have drawbacks. What is discouraging for those in the center who actually would like to see good policy made (maybe even study it), is a lack of recognition of this. Hopefully the pendulum will swing more toward the center again, but in the meantime it makes following politics a more complicated (although, admittedly perhaps more engaging) proposition.

simple things

candles and christmas trees. fresh snow. kids sledding with rosy cheeks and runny noses. a mug of hot cocoa. pine boughs and mistletoe. these are things i love about this time of year.

now back to writing papers...