Reading '"The Omnivore's Dilemma" changed the way I feed my family and myself.

Even though there are so many books that have had an impact on me, few have caused me to make an outright lifestyle change.

Learning more about industrial farming practices and how harmful they are to not only the animals but also to all of us and the environment (a thing I already knew intuitively but was able to ignore by and large) made me take a long hard look at my lifestyle and what we choose to spend our money on and ways to support our community and sustainable practices.



With my husband currently laid-off I'm not able to stick to my resolutions as much as I had been over the last two years but we try to buy almost all of the meat we eat from a local farm in town. We pick and freeze quarts and quarts of berries from another local farm in the summer. I made and froze a bunch of applesauce from locally picked apples this fall and will do so again next season. In addition I keep expanding our garden every year to grow more and more of our own fruits and vegetables and look forward to getting a small flock of laying hens when my children are a bit older and better able to help care for them. I make a concious effort to buy as local as I can when I purchase staples and other foods from the grocery store (wild caught shrimp from Maine, King Arthur flour, and so on).

You'll find "Mother Earth News" atop my toilet

Today's prompt is an easy one for me. I love magazines and would subscribe to many more if I thought I could actually read them all!

"Mother Earth News"
This is one of the four magazines that we get and one of two I read front to back. It has tons of great articles and ideas on sustainable living, homesteading, gardening, energy efficiency, information about where our food comes from and probably more information on chickens and why we should all keep a few laying hens than most people care to know about.

"Time"
Time is the other magazine we get that I read cover to cover. Since I don't watch the news anymore it's a good way to get some idea of what's been going on in the world from a source other than the Internet.



We also get Utne Reader and Mother Jones. I always find thought provoking, interesting articles inside both but don't usually manage to read everything.

My fear of Puking

I've had the fear as long as I can remember - probably stems from my parents giving me ipecec when I was 2. Why this was the recommendation posion control made when they were afraid I'd swallowed kerosene I do not understand - wouldn't it burn the esphogus worse coming back up??? But nevertheless that was what they were told to do and that's what they did and I have never lived a time in my life that I can remember without this fear.



It's severe enough that it's rare for it to not enter my thoughts in some way most days.



I feel a lot better about it knowing how common it actually is but that doesn't help me deal with it better. I will overcome it someday...I hope.

About Those Octuplets

I resisted reading the stories after it came out that Nadya Suleman, the mother of the octuplets who are in the news daily these days, had other children and had used IVF. This was in part because I really hate how sensationalistic the news is (yeah a weird sentiment coming from a former reporter) and I hate how so many important or worthwhile subjects get buried under trite garbage. But more than all that I didn't want to read articles bashing fertility treatments or ones that offered anything less than all the facts about IVF.

It's strange because IVF is one of the things I'm totally open about with friends and strangers alike but it's also a subject that I'm extra sensitive to. Both of my living children were conceived via in-vetro fertilization. I am beyond grateful to the technology and to the people who helped us bring our son and daughter to life.

IVF is not something people undertake lightly. It can't be. It involves weeks of injections. After your body is regulated on a cycle of birth control pills, you first take hormones to put you into a chemical menopause and then you start taking hormones to hype your ovaries up into overdrive. Then you go through the retrieval process where all the eggs that appear ready to go are extracted. After that you wait a few days to see how many played well with the sperm and fertilized and then how many of those are growing. If you're lucky you go back and get one or two placed into your uterus. Then if you're super lucky after a nail biting two weeks you find out that at least one embryo implanted itself in the uterine wall and is growing. Four more weeks will pass (which often include Progesterone injections - so not fun) before you go in and see how the embryo(s) are doing and if there is a heartbeat(s).

Throughout this entire process you are driving to the clinic several times a week, if not daily, to get your blood drawn. One of my worst days during this entire cycle was the day it took 8 tries for the lab techs to get the vial of blood they needed. My arms were black and blue and green and yellow from all the bruising by the time our retrieval day arrived.

I haven't even mentioned all the testing, some of it quite painful, that takes place prior to reaching the decision to do IVF in the first place. For those who don't have a clearcut need to go straight to IVF there may also have been months of trying to concieve via injectable hormones that stimulate the ovaries or insemination.

Nothing about the fertility route to pregnancy is easy or cheap. It costs thousands of dollars for a single IVF cycle (10 to 12 usually).

There is also the fact, usually unspoken, that what is one of the most intimate and loving acts is now a group project between you, your mate (if you have one) and a bunch of strangers. You are exposed not only physically but also emotionally to a fair number of people throughout this process. I always thought of myself as a strong person but I found that notion both challenged and then ultimately reinforced after my experiences with infertility.

Reading the stories about Ms. Suleman has left me disturbed. Nothing in my experience as a fertility patient lets me just believe the story as it's being presented. It just doesn't ring true. It doesn't ring true that any reproductive endocrinologist (an IVF doctor) would put so many embryos back into such a young woman; especially a woman who already has children and who seems pretty upfront about not being willing to abort fetuses. Maybe she lied. It seems like someone is lying. Or maybe in the rush to push a sensational story nobody is taking the time to research fertility treatments well.

Going with the good

It's cold. The weather is wet and icy. A lingering virus has been slowly making its way through the house (I hope it leaves soon). We are a fully unemployed household at the moment with a mortgage and plenty of bills. There is plenty to be anxious and depressed about (which I confess I am) but, BUT there is also spring to consider.

Yes spring.

I've been dreaming lately about crop rotations in the garden and trying different plants out in containors and adding to our baby orchard. Yesterday I decided the hell with it and placed a seed order and joined the Arbor Day Foundation and bought four more fruit trees. You know I am so glad I did. It has perked me up far more than spending money these days should!

Now I am anticipating burgandy beans, carrots in varying hues, watermelons, various tomatoes, snap peas and all sorts of other yummy treats. I'm also dreaming of what our fruit trees will look like in a few years as they have a chance to grow bigger and stronger. Will there be enough apples and cherries for us to have more than a taste? Mmmmm I hope so!

By the time the first fruits show up on the trees we will be past this current uncertainty. I don't know what the future will bring but I do know that these little steps, planting these seeds, are the right thing to do. Though I can't guarentee a bumper crop, they will grow and bloom and so will we.

Oh Where To Start?

Between computer issues, the holidays and my husband's layoff I haven't had a chance to write. I'm hoping to get more done now that the holidays are over and I have access to a reliable computer.

It's a bit off topic from politics, parenting and local food but I am so overwhelmed by what the layoff means to our family that it colors everything these days. On my good days I'm okay with the uncertainty. On my bad days I want to crawl under a rock. Fortunately for all of us my days have been leaning towards the good or at least neutral after a bad week during the holidays.

I was proud of myself for getting a part-time job but it's turning out that there isn't much work to be had. So I have the job, yes, but I don't actually work at the moment. Ah more uncertainty to add to the pot.

I wish I could say I've totally pulled myself together and am tackling our challenges head-on while still staying true to my principles and ideals but I'm not.

Exhibt A: I haven't managed to do some things I promised I'd do and it weighs on me. I am not one who breaks promises lightly. What I've promised to do is write a feature article for a web-based newspaper. I won't be paid but it will be a current clip. I should be jumping at this. Four months ago I was eagerly looking for this sort of opportunity. Now I just can't get myself moving. I know I can do it but I just can't seem to push past whatever's stopping me. I know some is depression over the fact that I don't see writing as a viable career path these days (four months ago I did). It's ridiculous but there it is. Now this isn't completely a broken promise because I know I'll get off my ass and write the article but I've taken much longer to do it than I should.

Exhibit B: Local/Community sustainability has become a huge issue for me and I've been trying to do my part by working hard to have us eating locally or at least regionally for the most part. Now I'm feeling pressure to cut the food budget as much as possible and that means a lot of drumsticks and pasta for dinner - not exactly an option from the farm (heck chickens this time of year aren't an option). I'm still trying to buy local where I can but Hannaford is getting more and more of our food money these days. I keep telling myself it's temporary and I know I'm doing the best I can but it makes me wonder about my commitment.

You know, I'm actually very grateful (and thanks if you've made it this far through my moaning!). I'm fortunate enough to be able to sit and pour all this out in a blog. How lucky is that?

Guess it's time to get to work ;-).

What Control?

What a month it's been. In the same week that Obama won the election we found out that my husband will be losing his job.

I feel a knotting, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think on it for any length of time. I know we're in a better position than plenty of people facing this upheaval but we've also been living paycheck to paycheck for some time now. I worry about how I'll make money to contribute and still care for our young children and care for (or try to at any rate) our home at the same time. I know plenty of women manage to do this all the time. I grew up in a single parent household. I am not unaware of how it can be done. The thing is I hate and am depressed by the idea that I can't give my children what I hoped.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself. My husband has opportunties. I'm hoping that he'll reach out for them and find a position that not only pays the bills but also gives him personal satisfaction and professional growth and stimulation. Fear is a sneaky thing, however, and it keeps slipping up on me even when I'm really trying to stay positive and focused on daily life issues and not think ahead to January.

I tell myself that worrying only wastes my time and energy. I tell myself that even if the worst happens and we lose our money and home that we still both have skills. We will be okay. Our children will not be out on the streets. I tell myself all of this and I know it to be true but I can't shake that fear. I understand that it's the unknown. I hate not knowing what will happen. I've been known to read the last chapter of a book, even romance novels, to make sure I know what happens before I can settle in and enjoy myself. It's weird because I'm not a control freak (really!) in so many other ways. I do like being in control of myself though. In fact I hate being out of control of myself. I have trouble letting go. And that is what this is all about.

I have no control over this layoff. I have no control over the economy. I have no control over the employers in this region. It fills me with anxiety.

And yet I do have faith in my husband's skills, intelligence, and resourcefulness. Sadly I have less faith in my own. I also just feel a deep disappointment that maybe my time home exclusively with the kids is coming to an end and that I never really managed to carve out the time I wanted to work on my novels this winter. Of course this is ridiculous. I can still write even if working and parenting full-time, it's just more challenging. And of course I'll still be the mother I want to be for my children. I'll step up and do what I need to do to make that happen.

It's disappointing when things don't work out the way you envision but there is also opportunity. Maybe this is how we will achieve our dreams. Maybe this puts us on the paths we need to be on. Or maybe it's all just a roll of the dice.

We'll find out.

Oh Yes We Did!

I am so tired. LOL seriously I'm exhausted. The last 20+ months have been exhilarating, worrisome, and an amazing experience. I didn't get to do as much for the Obama campaign as I wanted as our two young children take priority, but I did do all I could and my husband did a ton.

What an amazing experience. I am still sorting through all of my thoughts on it all and want to write about it but until I manage to do that I just want to say how proud I am of everyone who worked their butts off to make this happen. We did it. We. This was not a top down campaign. Things worked from the bottom up as much as from the top down. Chicago coordinated us but many of us, even in the context of working through our local offices, were self-directed. This was especially true in the primary and not as much in the general election.

We now live in a country with millions of new community organizers who are fired up and ready to go. What a beautiful day this is!

A trillion actions pass it on

Hi! We made history. When Barack Obama was elected President today it was because of a trillion small acts from millions of Americans over the past 2 years that has brought us to this moment.

Every little thing we do has an impact be it big or small. Every little thing can matter a great deal. A little push is all it takes to set off a chain of dominos.

Each of you has contributed to this moment in history. We've each given what we could. Please take a moment to reflect and write down some of the things you did that mattered most to you, or write down everything you did. It doesn't matter. Then, pass this on to everyone you know who contributed time, energy, and/or money to this effort so they can be included.

Please cc meltzer7@charter.net . We'd like to see how the list grows.

Jess in MA: Phonebanking, postcard writing/organizing, event hosting, and lots of other stuff.
Jonathan Meltzer (Berlin MA) Standing in the rain with 700 other volunteers listening to Barack speak before heading out to door knock on the first day of canvassing in NH April 2007.... Convincing a woman in Nashua at 5:30 PM primary day who was not going to vote to go to the polls and vote for Barack.... organizing a massive student outreach in MA, VT, NH, NY and RI to get college students from NH to register and vote absentee in NH....
Emma RUddock (mass HQ) - pulling an all nighter at the Mass Headquarters with some amazing people and entering data, my amazing college dems leaders who's enthusiasm is so incredible and inspiring, realizing after the NH primaries that this was not going to be easy but that we were going to do it anyway, succeeding in convincing my parents to let me take the year off from college to work fulltime on the campaign, meeting some of the most incredible people that I have ever gotten to know, voting in my first presidential election

Out of My Comfort Zone

I am so far out of my comfort zone these days I have trouble remembering what it feels like. I keep reminding myself that it's good to stretch and try things that scare you. It doesn't seem like the reminding changes my reactions though.

I hate calling strangers. Even more I hate calling strangers to ask them for something. It's a struggle to pick up the phone and dial. My stomach gets butterflies everytime I call a new number on my list. They subside a bit when I get an answering machine. They surge when I get someone who is pissed that I'm calling. The go away entirely when I get a friendly person on the other end of the line.

I'm going to be canvassing this weekend and that is soooooooooooooooo not anything I'm comfortable doing. At least on the phone you can't see one another. At least you can hang up if you need to. And it's safer than knocking on a stranger's door.

But this moment is too important for me to sit on the sidelines and not try to do something useful. I don't want to look back and wish that I'd stepped up to the plate and set aside my own fears and discomforts. I don't want to tell my children, "You can't change things. You have no power."

Our son feels involved. He is contributing by putting stickers on postcards or stamping them. Our two-year-old daughter likes to 'help' as well. They are both contributing by playing quietly when I make phone calls or by giving other volunteers a laugh or smile. They contribute when they come along to pick up or drop off voter registration forms. They are contributing because they and the futures I want for them inspire me to try and push through and do just a little bit more.

So I may not be comfortable but I am growing and learning. And, most importantly, I am actively working to create the world I wish to live in and the world I dream of for my children and all the other children in the world. What are a few butterflies compared to that?

The Fierce Urgency of I'm Too Busy

I've never volunteered in an election before so I totally understand when people say they're not comfortable or too busy or whatever other reason or excuse they have for not volunteering. Or at least I did.

This time around the election is just too important. We cannot afford to let this opportunity pass us by. We cannot afford McCain/Palin. I believe that with all my heart. If I didn't I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing.

So when I get response after response of "well I'm really too busy but I'll be voting for him," I get frustrated. Then I chastize myself. After all I know what it's like to be busy and I know that participating in the grunt work of a campaign is very low on most people's to-do lists (hell it usually is on mine as well). I'm really struggling with this. I understand but I don't. So much is at stake.

I know I'm not the only one who feels passionate about this race, far from it. Yet some of the most vocally passionate and fired up people I know are doing nothing. Some are donating money and that's great if they're able to and it's a valid contribution but right now we need people's time, their energy, their help. I hear people talk about how much they like Obama and how great it'll be when he's President but folks he's not President yet. He's still trying to get the votes!

Please, the time for action is now. If you an spare ten minutes and a few bucks buy some snacks for the volunteers and drop them off at a coordinator's house or campaign office. If you can spare two hours phonebank or address postcards. If you can spare four hours go canvass or do more phonebanking. It's not over until it's over. We need you!

Birthing Change...Is It Out Yet?

I've heard this election process (and volunteering in it) compared to labor and delivery before. It's an apt description. I am so tired. I can't imagine what it's like for Barack and Michelle and their families.

I've been doing the best I can as a town coordinator but I also have two young children to care for and a husband who is also devoting a ton of time to the campaign spearheading the NH Student Voter Project. I don't want to feel like there was more I should have done so I keep pressing on and doing little bits as I can throughout the day. I hope it all adds up and combined with what others are doing each day we're able to effect the change we're looking to see in our government and our role in it.

But I am tired and ready to vote. We're all trying to push through and birth this change. There is no choice but to see this through or fail and failure isn't an option. I cannot see how our middle-class family can survive four more years. I can't see how our nation can survive four more years. I cannot fathom how we could not seize this moment in time, in history and elect Barack Obama President. He is the right man for this time. We need to see this through.

And one last random thought. I think I've said it before but I'm tired and it's on my mind so I'll say it again:
Do you know the Maybelle story by Virginia Lee Burton about the San Francisco cable cars? It all reminds me of that story as well - the people who worked harder won over the ones who made more noise.

Musings on Callings

Callings. I've always wondered if I'd ever have a calling. Writing has been an integral part of my life and self-identity since a young age but I don't know if it's a calling or more of a desire. Callings would supercede desire.

I've been thinking about all this in the context of the Obama campaign. It's been a calling for many people. I don't know if it's my calling. I don't think it is though it has reawakened in me a desire to change the world for the better. I've wanted to be involved, and have been since he announced, but I don't live and breathe it every day and work endlessly and tirelessly. I do plenty but I would think with a calling you couldn't ignore it and spend time doing other things at its climax. Also, it's really become a movement. Can a movement be a calling?

I do know that the desire to become a mother was powerful in me. It was so powerful I was willing to go through four pregnancies, three miscarriages and IVF to have children. But as powerful and driving as that was, was it a calling? Biological urges probably played a role.

Events can transform a person's life and create a calling. I hesitate to say I wish for a calling because I don't want anything terrible to befall me or my family. That feels too much like tempting fate.

But I do wonder at how some of us clearly have callings that direct and define us while the rest of us muddle through our lives trying to figure out why we're here and what we should do. The best I've ever come up with is that I want to have a positive impact on the world, be the best mother I can be for my children and I still really want to make it as a professional writer. That goal is central to my sense of self and a strong desire.

But a calling, that seems like something profound, something different and rare.

Our minister talks about being called to ministry. It sounds like it's a life altering thing. It sounds like it's something so compelling you can't ignore it.

Do we all have a calling? If we do, do many of us miss it or ignore it? Do circumstances prevent us from answering our calls? Are our dreams/desires the same as a calling?

Ah well, it's late and I'm tired. I don't have any profound wisdom on the topic, just curiousity.

Harvest

I just harvested our parsnips and collected what I think are going to be the last of the raspberries. There are lots more on the canes but I don't think they'll have an opportunity to really ripen. Maybe we'll get a couple more handfuls - it'd be nice!

I experimented with growing the parsnips in a big, big round bucket this year and was hoping to be able to keep them in the dirt and harvest as needed until the ground really froze up. It didn't work out that way. When I tried pulling a couple out today I could only yank off the leafy top part and the roots all stayed firmly embedded in the dirt. Eventually I realized the only way I was going to get more than ten of them out was if I emptied out the entire bucket. Sigh.

At least I had a spot in the garden where I had wanted to put down a bunch of dirt. I dug and dumped and dug and dumped...for a half hour and finally was able to get the dirt loose enough to empty it. The root system was huge! It was easy to see why the parsnips weren't budging. Their roots made a tight net through the dirt and especially at the bottom. It was worth the work. There was a bounty of veggies and some of them are enormous with really long curved roots. It'll be a bit of a challenge to peel those but cutting them up and peeling the cuttings will probably do the trick.

I still have a patch of parsnips and carrots in the garden but I think they're just not going to get big enough before it's too cold for them to do any more growing.

I love being able to experiment in the garden. The only problem is that I risk losing an entire harvest - like when I cut the raspberries back last year and it turned out they're a variety that likes second year canes the best. The ones I didn't cut back had a bounty of berries this year and the others, well they had pretty leaves at least.

I'm thinking that next year I'm going to try and find a long, narrow, and deep container for carrots. It worked well with the parsnips but I think round was the wrong shape.

Mmmm lots of dreaming and planning to do this winter :-)!

It's Like Totally 80s

I was thinking about the election this morning. It's a ritual. Okay, it's an obsession. I think about it at least several times an hour all day long. It even invades my dreams. I can't wait for November 5.

This morning it struck me that I've seen this story before. I thought about it for a moment and started laughing. It was like an 80's movie. The cool, all-American kids are jerks and they always seem to win. They become the Prom Kings and Queens. They rule the roost. But then some upstart weirdo or misfit upsets the natural order of things. They are the real hero of the movie and we root for them to succeed. Then in the end they triumph and stay true to themselves.

I imagine the Obamas and Bidens will stay true to themselves and their core values; they have so far and it's been a brutal two years. Will they triumph? I hope so. I can't even envision McCain's nasty, smug persona in charge of the nation especially with his love of deregulation and bombing things! I'm sick over the possibility of the extremist Palin being a heartbeat away from the nuclear codes and my children's future.

I'm going to keep plugging away with postcards, phonebanks and my other volunteer activities. But I am also going to cross my fingers that like all good 80s movies the unlikely hero wins the girl/nation in the end.

And Speaking of Politicians...

I just wanted to thank Senator Collins for rejecting the robocalls the McCain/Palin campaign has been making. I was a reporter in Maine years ago and had the opportunity to meet Senator Collins when she was preparing for her sucessful Senate run. She struck me as professional, helpful and intelligent. I'm glad to hear and see that being in the Senate has not changed those qualities.

Americans want to hear about what our politicians will do to solve our nation's problems and how we can all work together to better our nation and citizens. We don't want to hear smears.

Thanks for standing up and doing the right thing Senator.

Hey Representative Bachmann We Can Love Our Country and Not Our Politicians

I don't watch much tv news anymore but commentors on the blog "The Field" - the place I go to to get much of my political news - were talking about last night's Hardball with Chris Matthews. Representative Bachmann (R-MN) was on spewing smears and sowing the seeds of distrust and hatred. She went as far as saying that liberals are anti-American and that all liberal members of Congress (she included at least one very moderate member in her list) should be investigated for anti-Americanism. This congresswoman had 7 minutes or more on national television to discuss the problems facing all citizens of this nation and not once did she address a single actual issue.

Enough is enough. We need our politicians to help solve our problems and not fan the flames of discord and distrust between Americans. One can disagree with a policy and still love their nation. One can work for changes they believe in and very much love their country. Representative Bachmann was incredibly incindeary and actively smearing the character of her colleages and millions of Americans. Enough! We all love our country. Our Constitution provides room enough for all of us to work together even when we disagree.

Watch the video for yourself and if you're upset by it take action: http://www.censurebachmann.com/

Drip, Drip, Drip

I'm sitting with a pile of stamped postcards. They're written and ready to go to campaign HQ to be addressed and sent to undecided voters in swing states. There are lots of them and they represent hours of work by a number of people but when I sit and think of how few voters they'll actually reach it is discouraging. Still every vote matters. We have to fight to get every vote. Each little drip of water adds up and eventually makes a puddle, which can form a stream, which can fill a pond. It all adds up to something greater.

If a postcard I've written helps bring an undecided voter onboard then I've just doubled the impact of my vote. Thinking about it that way this pile suddenly seems larger.

This is how we change the world. This is how individuals can do it; with small steps towards small goals that can turn into larger steps towards larger goals and eventually others will help support us and we can go further and faster than we ever thought possible. This is the beauty of community organizing.

This is the wonder of community.

Hooray! A Published Quote

Victoria DePaul, a wonderful and multitalented woman, I've met a couple of times via our volunteer work with the Obama campaign has written and published an ebook about Senator Obama and leadership. I plan on reading it and will write more about it later (as in after the election) but I am very excited to say that a quote I gave her appears at the start of Chapter 3 "Commitment."

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6501163/Obama-Leadership-for-the-21st-Century

It's not much but I am very, very excited!

I Love Donna Brazile

She's great! I find I cannot listen to most of the commentators or "journalists" on the television anymore. Actually I rarely listen to them these days - a few minutes before and after the debates (mostly to Keith Olbermann because he's funny) and on election nights. I'll take Jon Stewart over the actual "newsmen" any day. But Donna Brazile is different. She hasn't sold her ethics out for fame, at least not that I've seen (but see the disclaimer above - I don't watch much news anymore).

Today she had a wonderful Op-Ed up on CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/16/brazile.obama/index.html

Rob Fourier, the AP's Washington Chief (and prior to that a McCain staffer-wannabe) has been writing about the "Bradley Effect" - the notion that white people will tell pollsters that they'll vote for a colored candidate and then go and do the opposite thing in the privacy of the voting booth. He's been injecting race into the campaign unnecessarily.

Today Donna addressed race and this election head on. I encourage you to read her entire piece but in part she wrote, "But what if the Bradley Effect were mere folklore? What if it proved to be less like the immutable laws of physics and more like an electoral version of the Loch Ness monster or, even more fantastical, Gov. Sarah Palin's foreign policy expertise as a result of her proximity to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's flight path?

Lance Tarrance, who was Bradley opponent George Deukmejian's lead pollster in 1982, wrote an article recently stating that the disparity between polling and electoral results in that campaign was as the result of bad polling, not racism. He posits that Bradley was always within the statistical margin of error and that his loss reflected nothing more than the inherent weaknesses of polling data in a close election.

Even if there were a Bradley Effect in effect in 1982, there is no evidence that it still exists today. Think of it: The 1980s were a time of recession, high gas prices and questionable fashion sense. Oh wait, perhaps those are bad examples of how much the country has changed in the ensuing quarter-century.

There are, however, a multitude of examples to prove just how far we've come in the past 26 years. The first and most visible: Barack Obama. iReport.com: Cornell students agree that Obama won final debate

There was no way either major party would have nominated a black man for president of the United States in the 1980s. The Rev. Jesse Jackson's historic campaign was as close as we came, and it was symbolic at best.
The greater symbolism was in the choice of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female vice presidential pick in a time when no one would have ever seriously considered a woman leading the ticket. On second thought, maybe citing a newsmaking female veep candidate is a bad choice to highlight the differences between then and now.

Yet no one can argue that huge strides haven't been made since the 1980s. If Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton had run for president the same year Tom Bradley ran for governor, neither would have advanced beyond the Iowa caucuses. The country simply wasn't ready. It is now.

Yes, racism still exists in America. Its disgusting and insidious presence is evidenced every time some rabid partisan screams "Kill him!" or "Terrorist!" when Obama's name is mentioned at McCain-Palin rallies.
There is a contingent of folks in this country who will never, under any circumstances, vote a black man, or for that matter a woman, into office. Thankfully, those hateful, intolerant few are not the ones who will decide this election.