HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2024 is upon us. It is the year for primary and general elections. If you live in an 80/20, 70/30 or even a 60/40 Republican County you are already familiar with the challenges ahead for rural Democrats. You have hope for sure. No one can do this work without it. But our hope is usually protected by a thin veneer of realism. We need that too. Without hope, realism and patience we will all burn out fast.
Our hope is that things can change, and improve, and that we can help create that change. Realism protects hope by not letting it sink into despair when change does not come as quickly as we thought. We trust and hope that change will come. But we are human beings who are only here a short time. We wish the change had happened yesterday. We hope it happens, tomorrow or at least this year, even though we know in 2024 it may pass us by once again. Being a Democrat in rural Texas is not just about disappointment. It is about waiting.
But it is not waiting in a passive sense. It is waiting as an active participant. The Texas Rangers did not sit around waiting passively for their World Series Championship in 2023 to just come along. They have been actively working towards it the entire franchise history. It may not come this season, or next season, or the next, but if we are patient, and remain active in our daily work it will come.
Happy New Year!
Hope is something worth fighting for
Thank you for reminding us to take the long view, to be patient, and to stay hopefully engaged. As someone has said, "If you want to be hopeful, you must do hopeful things," and that includes meeting, teaming up with, and multiplying the numbers of like-minded people in our towns and counties.