So, does Rahm's victory in Chicago tell us anything?

[MineralMan]

107. Then don't show up. See if that works out better for you.

I don't know what to tell you, really. Most people vote to support what they think are their best interests. People who don't vote apparently don't really care. I've been voting since 1966. Most of the time, I didn't get a lot of what I wanted, either. I started voting during the Vietnam War. I was your age once, too. I vote in every election. Sometimes the people I support win. Sometimes they do not. When they do not, I vote again in the next election.

I watched Richard Nixon get elected. I watched Ronald Reagan and two Bushes get elected. Did I stop voting because of that? Oh, Hell no. Do I get what I want? Not very often. Do I think the government is going to look after me? Not a chance. Do I vote every time I can? Absolutely, because that's really my only chance to move things forward, even if just a little.

Yes, there is history. I've seen a lot of it. I've seen the Voting Rights Act enacted. I've seen reproductive choice happen. I've seen wars come and go, starting with Korea. (I was born two weeks before the Hiroshima Bomb.) Often, I've watched as progress seemed to turn backwards. What could I do about that? I could vote. I could encourage others to vote. I could try to make a life for myself in the meantime. Many things have improved since that 1966 election. Some things have improved a helluva lot. Most of those things don't measurably improve my life, but they improve someone's.

Now, I'm almost 70 years old, and I'm still voting, canvassing for candidates and working on GOTV.

You want politicians to do better? Elect some who will. You won't always win. You won't always lose. If you give up, though, you'll lose more often than not.

I'm sorry you're young. Doesn't that sound silly? Of course it does. It's your time, too, just as it was my time, too, in 1966 when I cast my first vote. Sorry things aren't going as you'd like. The answer is to push for what you want. The answer is to vote and work to elect people who support your goals. Some people will vote with you, and some against you. That's how it goes in a system like ours. You want something better? Work to get it. I'll vote with you, probably 100% of the time.

Sorry, but that's as much as I can offer. I'm old, tired, and useless, you see.