on friday, i returned home to southern oregon from a trip to southern california, where i spent the week visiting family. during that week, i was seriously missing my computer and the blogs i frequent, especially dkos, and i knew i wasn't getting the full story about the week's events from cnn and msnbc, the two cable news channels our hotel offered. nevertheless, i was buoyed the entire week by an overwhelming sense of optimism.
one day, early in the trip, on the elevator down from our hotel room, my mother and i encountered an elderly couple, and the man was wearing a kerry-edwards button. normally, i'm not one to start a conversation with a stranger, especially not in an elevator, which environment creates its own unique form of awkwardness, at least for me, but this time was different. my mind raced as i searched for the words to convey our shared goal to the man in the elevator. finally, i blurted out "we're gonna win"! and smiled broadly. a conversation about early voting ensued. when we arrived at the lobby, i walked out of the elevator feeling lighter than air. the phrase became a refrain i used repeatedly for the remainder of the trip, and nothing could change my mind.
thereafter, among the first words i uttered each day were "we're gonna win"! this was usually in response to something or other i heard on the teevee. or my mother and i would be riding in our rental car, and a news report about the election would come on the radio, and i would cheer my refrain. each family member that we visited, i assured them "we're gonna win." and we are. some of my family members who will vote for kerry were feeling uncertain, and i reassured them that "we're gonna win." some of my family members are voting for bush, but still i assured them that "we're gonna win," because, as i told them, they better to get used to the idea now, so it isn't a shock to their system come november 3rd.
try saying it yourselves a few times a day. it works. you'll start feeling more optimistic. say it enthusiastically, even if you aren't a typically enthusiastic person.
so it is in this mindset that i learned of the new osama video. you know what i did when i heard the report on the radio? that's right, i said "we're gonna win"! and we are going to win. the time for second-guessing has past. the time for fretting is long gone. it is time to be confident. be confident. say the words. we're gonna win.
so, guess what i did when i got home? i made a sign that says, guess what, "we're gonna win!!" and i put it in my bedroom window, right next to my kerry-edwards signs, facing the street. (it rains a lot here in oregon and there is rampant theft of kerry signs in my right-leaning neighborhood, thus i keep my signs indoors at all times, in the window, facing the street.) i took a picture today, so you all could see what trick-or-treaters will see as they wander my neighborhood gathering candy. here it is:
the point of this sign, this phrase, isn't to rub it in the republicans' faces. the point is to show kerry supporters that i am confident we will win, to show them that they should be confident that kerry will win, and to prepare republicans for the reality they will face on november 3rd, if they haven't already awoken from their bush-rove propaganda-induced stupor like tucker carlson has.
so say it with me:
WE'RE GONNA WIN!!