I Am That Goose

 This particular journey started April 15, 2012.  It had nothing to do with tax day. 

Uncharacteristically, I had nothing to do that Sunday.  I heard that the Democratic precinct caucuses were meeting, so thought I would go and just watch.  I was not sure, precisely, what a caucus was.  The first I ever heard of a caucus was in Alice in Wonderland, when the Dodo called for a Caucus-race to dry everyone off after swimming in a pool of tears.  I didn’t expect that, but I did expect something fairly dry.  I didn’t expect what I found.

Out of the thousand or so voters in my precinct, I was the only one to show up.  Huh?  Have people stopped caring?  Are they distracted?  Are they too busy?  Are there no Democrats in my precinct?  What has happened to our public political conversation?

The facilitator asked for delegates to the Legislative District caucus.  I raised my hand and asked what the responsibilities of a delegate were.  He said, “Well, you need to know the candidates,” and proceeded to outline just who was running in this election.  I still didn’t know what I needed to do, but hated to interrupt him since he obviously needed to get out what he was saying.  Finally, someone who had a lot more experience than I, stopped the facilitator and let him know, gently, that he hadn’t answered my question.  I finally learned that a delegate votes on the party platform and endorsement of candidates.

Needless to say, I was unanimously elected delegate to the Legislative District caucus.  At the district caucus, about 40 people showed up.  They needed to elect 22 delegates.  Twenty-three people raised their hand.  So, I was also a delegate to the Congressional District caucus, the County convention and the State convention.    Just because I showed up.

The County Convention was first.  There were about 400 people there.  The Party Platform was about 10 pages long and had planks on agriculture, economic development, education, environment, fair elections, foreign policy, health care, human rights, human services, immigration, labor, justice, the military, social security and resolutions on overturning unconstitutional laws on due process, updating the mining law of 1872 and preventing drunk driving.  If you want the final version, here is the link:

http://www.piercecountydems.org/platform/pcdcc_platform.htm

I was pretty quiet during this, except for one discussion on foreign policy.   Someone suggested striking the following sentence:  “We believe the invasion of Iraq was an unjustified act based on false and misleading statements and fallacious thinking that has caused the deaths and life-altering injury of thousands of U.S. servicemen and women and tens of thousands of innocent, non-combatant men, women, and children.”

Their feeling was that this was in the past and shouldn’t be brought up.  I got up and stood in line for the microphone.  My two cents worth said that we cannot forget the past or we will be condemned to repeat it.  The motion to strike that sentence didn’t carry.  Just that was worth sitting through the 3 hours of the convention.

At the Congressional District caucus, we elected delegates to the Democratic National Convention.  This was a big deal.  There were positions available for 3 men and 4 women and there was a lot of campaigning going on.  As I walked into the room, there were 3-4 people right there who handed me flyers on why they should be elected a delegate.  Some even had made buttons.  When I sat down, several more came by to hand me their flyers.  Then there was time fore each one to make their statement of ‘vote for me’.

I knew I was in no position to campaign to be a delegate, even if I had been aware of the deadline for filing.  I didn’t want to take anything away from those who had been working for this for years.  So, I voted, based on the two minutes I had known each candidate. 

I was not a delegate, but I did want to follow the process through.  After the State Convention, I decided to go to Charlotte, NC.  The biggest hurdle was finding a place to stay.  All the hotels and motels in Charlotte were booked, probably as soon as Charlotte was announced as the convention site.  After two days of searching the web, I found a hotel about 20 miles out of the city.  Then I found the convention website and signed up to volunteer.  At least I could get the feel of the place, even if I couldn’t get into the arena.  I was going anyway, especially since I had registered for a conference that took place the weekend before the Convention.  More on that later…

Then, I got a phone call on Sunday.  I was offered a ticket to Obama’s acceptance speech on Thursday.  It fell into my lap. It completes the progression of this journey.

So, because I showed up and because I wanted to follow the political process through to the end, I feel that I am the eyes and ears of those in my precinct.  It is a great responsibility.

I Am That Goose

Warm summer day with a soft breeze.

Perfect day for meditation, introspection and siesta.

I sit in a lawn chair, wide-awake, neck stretched, listening.

My love is inside, dozing.

My dogs are laid out in the shade.

My cats are catnapping.

Our nation is asleep.

Somewhere, in a park or a field, there are geese,

Also asleep on this warm day.

All but the sentry goose.

Awake, watching.

I am that goose.