High Times

I'm a tree-hugging hippie, and proud of it.

One of the things that I never really wanted to do with my little part of the internet was to fill it with all sorts of political rhetoric. I'm not informed enough, nor smart enough to try and persuade anyone to see things from my point of view, so for the most part, I'll leave that work to the people who can "talk purdy."

Today, Senator John Kerry came to Madison, WI and I thought it would be a good chance to get out of work and go show my support for the candidate that I'm going to vote for next week. I'm not going to bother you with my reasons for supporting him, I'm just saying I'm voting for him next Tuesday.

Before I went to the rally, I was sitting at my desk and overheard a phone conversation coming from the person who sits in the next cube. "Are you going to the rally with the rest of the tree-hugging hippies?" he asked his friend.

I'm not quite sure what it was about this particular rally that made him choose that way of describing the democratic party, but I'm guessing he drank some bad Kool-aid a few years back and it's really been bothering him since.

Maybe it was the fact that Bruce Springsteen was going to be at the rally that really bothered him. That guy has been asking for it ever since he put out that hippie anthem "Born in the USA."

Another reason could have been that our Senator Russ Feingold was going to be there. I don't have pictures of it, or actual proof, but I've heard it from good sources that he likes to give trees some of his extra special lovin' whenever he gets the chance. I'm not trying to start rumors; I'm just saying what I've heard.

So, I walked to the rally with a few other people from work and tried to pay close attention to the people that were heading that way as well. I kept trying to look for Woody Harrelson and his hemp pants, but I just couldn't seem to find him. I guess when you're standing in a crowd of 100,000 people; you might not notice all of the hippies in your midst. They're a shifty lot. After all, there are quite a few trees for them to hug, and there just isn't enough time to stand there and enjoy any particular tree. You have to get to a tree, hug it, and then move on. It's not a part-time job, my friends, you really have to bust ass if you're going to be a tree-hugger.

All the while that I was standing there and listening to the performers and listening to the senator speak, I kept looking for the evasive tree-hugging hippie. Eventually I realized my error. To the person who sits next to me at work, every one of us that was in attendance was a hippie. Whether they were the man in the 3-piece suit clapping politely, or the young college student with the "Buck Fush" button on their jacket, we were all tree-huggers.

Having been to the rally and having seen the people that were there, I think I like being a tree-hugging hippie. There are much worse things that a person could call me.

So, regardless of who you are, what you believe in, or where you live, get out and vote next Tuesday. I don't care if you're voting for Bush, Kerry, Nader, or Badnarik, get out and vote. Call yourself a Christian Conservative, Progressive Democrat, or Undecided Independant, get out and vote.