"Bush used intelligence like a drunk uses a lamp post. To lean on."
Today was...inspiring. I know it's narcissitic, but I can't help but feel so amazing about what the Die In did today. I can't help but be moved by people's responses and support. I'm lame, so today has been a day of held back tears.
The Die In was better than I could have expected. All fifty people showed up to lay out in the cold, the wind and the rain in Red Square. And the drums were pretty much amazing. The beat was solemnm but still interesting. I have to admit that I was one of many that were freakin' cold during the event, and I'm just now regaining full body feeling, but I'm so glad it rained. It's so easy to commit to your convictions when it's comfortable, but it's something totally different to spend an hour laying still in the rain and the wind and tell people that you believe. It's hard to ignore. And the church bells, the churcg bells couldn't have been better. (Jess, thanks a million for offering your coat. You're the sweetest.)
The response from my profs was really cool. I didn't really expect them to pass any sort of judgment, but hearing Kayleen tell me how great the event looked and having Kathy tell me it was sad for the world that there weren't more people like me (and, of course, Shannon, Karen, Buley, Tamara, etc.) was a completely mind-blowing experience. I expected to catch the attention of the student body; I didn't expect the staff to notice.
The panel (which I pretty much had jack sh*t to do with) turned out really well. Sid really came through for us, as did the philosophy department. I'm used to being "the political one," so it's so cool for me to be in a room where people are sitting around talking politics and about the just war theory (which I adore, by the way). Buley's a genius. I'm just saying...
Then on to the vigil with Students for Peace. Again, Tamara, Shannon and Karen are amazing. I love how Tamara chose to focus on hope. I'm not a religious person, but having those different prayer said/sung was a really great touch. It threw me off though. Tamara had one parting question: what makes you get up in the morning?
This. This is why I get up in the morning. Days like this make me get up in the morning. I get my ass out of bed because I know that I (and other people, as well) can reach people if I'm willing to put my heart into it. I can get people talking, and people who don't usually know anything about politics, give a fuck for one day. I get up in the morning because right now, the world sucks, and I know that nothing is going to change that unless I (and again, other people) do. I get up because I give a damn.