activefreemedia

I'm ashamed that I represent the democratically deficient demographic in this country. In my twenties, politically interested, I've managed to remain complaisant and politically inactive. I didn't vote in 2000, but drive around with a Ralph Nader sticker on my bumper, to indicate how I would have voted had I actually done so. But like so many of my contemporaries I learned a lesson from the last election. I'm not speaking of the "blame me I voted for Nader" vindictive democrats sling at their political allies, but rather the lesson of inaction.

So we have another chance, as democracy graciously affords us time and time again. And again we have choices, though the emergence of a third party candidate left of the Democrats seems unlikely in the wake of 2000. The Democratic Party is the most diverse political party in the free world and that can be its strength. Next summer, one candidate will emerge from the field and that one candidate will represent the only viable alternative to another four years of Bush Doctrine disaster. I applaud Dennis Kucinich's activism in the domestic war against war and am refreshed by a politician with such integrity. The debate in the Democratic Party is the foundation of our political system. Every candidate should be heard, and every candidate should have a chance. But in our campaign for one candidate, let's not sling mud in our own kitchen. Whichever candidate wins the Democratic Party nomination next summer, we (the collective left of center) must stick together. Our objective is a new White House, not a divided out house.

Morality by consensus is frequently morality by convenience.