Tired but productive
Ah, back at a computer, that feels really good. No more typing and trying to post links with thumbs! So, I’m still a little sore, and very tired from Sunday’s run. I don’t need extra miles, I’m on track for a big October as is, so I figure just get out there and shake it down a little. I have to say I was more than please with my pace, with how I felt in general, and the fact that once again I had a negative split on every mile (and on almost every kilometer). Craziness, definitely had a great run today!
This past month has been a great running month for me. I think with many of the worries of the Summer gone, the fact that I’m in a place I really want to be, I’m relaxed, I’m generally happy, have been major factors in this. A positive and relaxed frame of mind work wonders. Mental well-being certainly can translate into physical well-being, and the converse can also be true.
Meanwhile, we can all relax a little the US election is coming to an end, the super-dangerous man who only cares about himself and can even handle comedians doing their job and making fun of the stupid things he’s said and done is not looking good. But about that, neither candidate is going to fix what’s really wrong, they can’t. And you’re kind of dumb if you think they can. Sorry, it’s the truth and I need to be honest.
If you don’t like your school teaching your kids creationism, or how to solve math problems a certain way, or that the Civil War wasn’t really about slavery, shit like that, the President, even the US Congress doesn’t really have anything to do with that. That stuff is handled by your local school board, district, and sometimes the State. Those are the elections that really matter. The President doesn’t fill potholes, fix traffic lights, or makes the trash collection schedule. They don’t handle recycling, how clean the park is, or how may books are in the library. These are all local political duties. These are the things that get decided in “off-year” elections. These elections, that are so massively important get almost no media coverage (because there’s no money to be made), and generally have voter turnout in the mid-teens-to-low-twenty percent!
Now think about that, everybody who says your vote doesn’t matter, most of the eligible voters let about 20% of the people decide things that really matter. I did the math one local election, as I watched pathetic vote totals come in. It was so disheartening. So, you want things to change, you’re not happy with this politician, or that politician, go out and actually vote. Let’s say you have a town of about 25,000 people, and 10,000 of them are of voting age and are eligible. 20% is 2,000 votes. split between however many candidates. Let’s say it’s two candidates, although in local elections you’re more prone to find 3 or more. Let’s say the results end up 55% for one candidate, and 45% for the other, so how many votes is that? 1100-900 votes. There’s still 8,000 votes that never got cast, because nobody could be bothered, because they think their vote doesn’t matter, or they don’t want to try and go up against the road blocks the people that won by just 200 votes put up in front of them to vote.
You wonder why the system doesn’t work? You wonder why they lie and backstab and cheat and do what they do? Because they notice that you really don’t seem to care enough to do the one thing you can to change it. Go vote. I’m thousands of miles away, I voted, and I’ll vote next year too. I’ve voted every year since I’ve been allowed, I will continue to vote. Although it seems I tend not to split my ticket, I absolutely have and I absolutely will when there is a candidate that makes sense on the ballot. Change starts small, change it locally and that change will move up the ladder. Everything is built from the ground up, nothing is built from the top down.
Have fun, keep running, and remember; if Gil can run then so can you!
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