The reason we care...

Cross-Posted to MyDD

This diary entry is going to be a little more personal than I normally do; some may even question if it's topical to a politically related website, but I think one of the main reasons we all care about politics is because of how it affects us, our family, etc. Given the special significance of today for myself, I felt pressed to write this diary.

Exactly one year ago today, July 30th, 2007, my mother passed away at 49. We never felt pressed to find the exact reason of death; but she suffered from extreme cases of lupus and fibro, which caused her pain beyond what most of us could never imagine physically.

I like to think of my close family and friends as the reason I care about politics; because it can affect many of us in every facet of our lives.

With my mother, she lived on government provided benefits for the most part since the lupus took affect; it left her disabeled and move around the house; let alone to work. Welfare; early reception of SSI benefits, and government subsidized health insurance are many things that Republicans demonize on a daily basis; but are things that I fully believe assisted me in enjoying the last few years with my mother that I did.

Recently we've seen alot of bickering on the "blogosphere" at least here at MyDD. I've been involved in it too, and we all get carried away. But I think we all need to remember what draws us back into the process; the reason why we cared in the first place and the reason why we put up with the bullshit that we do in being politically minded: it's because we care about people.

When I lost my mother today last year; one of the things that has helped me through the last 365 days is immersing myself in something that is bigger than all of us in a sometime futile attempt to create change in our country for the better.

So the next time you curse out a PUMA, call a purity troll "worthless", or get involved in a flame war over primary loyalities, remember what draws us back into the process, and what you have in common with that person on the other side of the computer screen: we want what is best for all people. That's why we're Democrats. Flame wars are unavoidable, we'll all be there, but I think what MyDD is losing on both sides of the battle is a sense of the humanity of the person on the other side of the keyboard, and the common goals we are fighting for.

My mother was my inspiration for my life and she taught me the values that I hold today, the biggest one being to love one another, and act like it too. Sometimes I don't live up to that, but I like to hope that we all can try, in our own little way.