Politics, Local and Otherwise.

This is a column I wrote in 2016, before I knew the results of the Presidential election. I'm not a fan of the President, but he's got the job, so, here we are. I am running for office, locally. Because I believe it's important to show up. My father taught me this, he was wise, he was kind and he was everything a father and man should be. I so wish he could see me now.

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean that politics won’t take an interest in you.”

— Pericles

By the time this is printed, we will have a new president. Whoever it is will have made history. It’s been quite something this time around. No matter where you stood on the issues or whose sign was on your lawn, this election probably caused some stress, anxiety and maybe even fights with friends and family. There were new lows in some of the campaigning and definitely some high points too. Everyone could likely agree on that even if no agreement could be reached on who was best for the job.

Early voting was a thing this year, and while a quick check of Google tells me it’s not really new and that some states like Texas and Oregon have had it for awhile, it still seems both new and old at the same time. I am used to voting in the gym at the Rec and Park building, but early voters went to Abbot Hall. It’s definitely hometown bias and pride, but is there any place more historic, more American and more suited to this crucial part of democracy than a building that houses a famous painting of the very beginnings of our republic? Still, I decided to hold out and vote on Election Day because growing up, even for small races, it was a very big deal. There was an energy to it that just doesn’t happen, for me at least, until the actual day.

My father entered politics early and often, having been elected to some imaginary office by his classmates on the school bus at the beginning of his freshman year of high school. From then on if there was an office to be held, chances were good that he would throw his hat in the ring. School committee was by far his favorite and where he spent most of his “political” career. Whenever town elections were held, I knew that a large part of the day would find him holding a sign on the sidewalk and the night would be spent waiting around town hall, the smell of paper ballots and cigarettes in the air. A chalkboard was the 1960s version of an electoral map, and a long table with a few telephones on it was the communications center. On this night only, I was allowed to stay up late and wait for the votes to be counted. Some years it took almost an hour in the little town of Nahant to count all the votes. That was politics back in the day, and as much as I love social media and advanced technology, there’s something to be said for going old school.

What hasn’t changed in politics, however, is the concept of being part of the process. Not everyone wants to run for office, and, certainly, not everyone should. That isn’t the only way to take part, however. Did you vote this week? For anyone who didn’t, it’s now time for you to sit down and keep quiet. Early voting went on for 11 days here in town with a total of 89 hours of availability. Then, on Nov. 8, polls were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., offering another 13 hours. Absentee ballots were available for those who might have been out of town. There was plenty of time to get out and vote. Perhaps some people just chose not to vote. Honestly, it’s easier for me to comprehend the Periodic Table of Elements than it is to understand the choice not to vote, and that is saying something since I flunked high school chemistry.

My father gave me many things, from red hair and green eyes to a wicked attitude and a love of car rides to nowhere, but the most important of them has to be the belief that voting in elections, at every level, is vital to all of our lives. He believed in the process; he believed it was a citizen’s sacred duty to cast a ballot whenever one was offered. And he believed it started at home, in our own communities. For him, it was about standing up and showing up. Here’s to moving on, to another four years, to new laws and old battles and to the never-ending cycle of determining who we are and how we will run our towns, our states and our country.

What’s next?

Leaving a Few Things Behind

"Year's end is neither an end or a beginning, but a going on with all the wisdom experience can instill in us."

--Hal Borland

It's not quite the end of the year, but we are getting there. It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? I don't care who you are, 2017 was a kick in the pants, no question. Some good, some bad, and some events so mind-bogglingly stupid, it's a wonder the human race has survived this long. It has though, so we should probably just keep going. While it's a time when some people think up resolutions and goals, promising to do better at this or to eat less of that, isn't how I roll. Instead, I look back at the year like it was a buffet in some imaginary cafeteria. I put some items on my plate, and others got handed to me. There were things I passed by because they looked awful, or in a few cases, because they seemed too good, in that tempting way that never works out well. Here are a few habits that cropped up a lot for me in 2017 that I am leaving there.

Arguing over politics on social media. I'm so done. It's clear that some people won't ever see it my way, and I'm not coming over to their side, so why waste the air? I grew up on political debate; my father would discuss the Church, the government, our laws and the people responsible for running it all on a regular basis. He'd go off at the drop of a hat and get into it with anyone, face to face, usually over a beer, which is so much better than over the Internet. A friend in college, who knew our family was from the Boston area, asked him, "Mr. Kelley, what's it like to have lived where the Kennedys came from?" His answer? "Well, it wasn't a big deal unless, you know, I had the audacity to say I'd voted for someone else. Then it got a little prickly, but it's never bothered me, I just made sure none of them lived where I wanted to live, because…there goes the neighborhood." He said it to start something, because he was smart enough to know how to finish it. While I will miss the intelligent political debate, it's finally dawned on me that it's almost nonexistent anyway, at least via a keyboard or screen.

Being surprised. I've given that up too, because, quite frankly, if a news bulletin came on today that said there would no longer be a Post Office, and the buildings were going to be converted to casinos, I can't say I'd be shocked. It's been one eventful year, and most of it, for me anyway, was pretty unexpected. Oh, there's a new rule that everyone has to wear orange on Sundays? Ok, whatever. What's that? Failure to use a turn signal is now a felony? Fine. So many times over the year I said, "No, that won't happen" and then it did. Santa Clause is resigning because he got handsy with an elf? Of course, he did. Someone sent a nasty note to a neighbor over a tree and some lights, and didn't have the stones to sign it? Not surprising at all, I've got my own little anonymous fan sending me critiques now and then about this column, but never a signature. Old news.

People who just don't "get it." While that's rather vague, it's something we all recognize.  There are always a few people like this, and maybe they are family members or coworkers that have to be tolerated, but I'm pretty much over feeling badly about not wanting to deal with…well…crap that doesn't matter. Don't get me wrong, I don't know anyone who's a total jerk or anything, but 2017 proved that sometimes, the world can be a tough place. Anyone who makes it more difficult is off my radar.

I sent a kid off to the military this year, and another kid is lighting it up at a new school where she didn't even know where her first class would be. I got up every day and did my work, and took care of my family, and didn't run anyone over with my car, which, to be honest, wasn't always easy. It's here though, the end of another trip around the sun. The Airman is coming home (tomorrow!), and there's a rib roast waiting to be devoured. Nothing that happened this past year was a waste though because after some of the "experiences" of 2017, there's got to be a whole lot of wisdom around and that is what will carry us all into the coming year, right?