Primary season is upon us, and if you were trying to keep out of it until there were only two people running for president, then you've recently realized that that just isn't in the cards. Democrats! Republicans! Bloomberg?
You can't escape from any of them on MSNBC or CNN, and if you live in a primary state that counts, then you can't even escape from them on your doorstep. New Hampshire residents are still recovering from candidates handing them their morning paper. Would you like to open your door and find Rudy Giuliani standing there? "Good morning! 9/11!"
South Carolina, Nevada, Super Tuesday... It's like a Dave Matthews Band Tour, but the roadies are wearing Bluetooth ear things, and I care about it. Election is in the air, and it's on people's tongues. (War, what war? Didn't you hear what Obama said? The gloves are coming off!)
Elections are legal semi-organized revolutions (when the chads aren't hanging), and while I love a good revolution, what I love more is crazy people. Watching Chris Matthews lately is better watching the guy on my subway line who asks for a sandwich or a hug, "if you happen to be, like, really attractive or something." And Matthews is just the tip of the crazy iceberg!
Now is the time to give to a candidate, or better yet, more than one candidate. Give to your party. Give to the person in the other party that doesn't scare you as much as the other ones. (That might be hard in this election cycle.) Of course, once you give, you're going to get slammed with spam and actual junk mail, but it's worth it. Forget Christmas, primary season is the season of giving, and if you can afford to -- poney up! Even better, give your time and volunteer.
Our elections are just plain confusing. Electoral College? The difference between a caucus and a primary? Fred Thompson? Giving to a candidate that you support is simple and important. Small donations are the political version of clapping for the fairies: it's how you show that you believe. Or, for some us whose faith is bruised after the past seven years, it's how you say that you want to still believe.
And I want to still believe.