Boyko For Congress 2008, Texas 25th District

[Jules]

Sigh.

[Brian Boyko]

...awkward...

[Jeff]

I'm still proud of you, Boyko. It was an exciting 24 hours of politics.

[Brian Boyko]

I don't know - it just... well, for the first time in quite a while, it felt like I was doing something instead of just impotently waiting for things to get worse.

[Brian Boyko]

I want to go get drunk, sadly, there is no booze in the house and no one to drive me home

[TexasImprovMassacre]

i know mo,
we all miss bearded jastroch.

[Jeff]

I don't know - it just... well, for the first time in quite a while, it felt like I was doing something instead of just impotently waiting for things to get worse.

A toast... to impotently waiting for things to get worse. Sometimes that's all we can do in this unfair and painful ecstasy called life.

[Jules]

I don't know - it just... well, for the first time in quite a while, it felt like I was doing something instead of just impotently waiting for things to get worse.

A toast... to impotently waiting for things to get worse. Sometimes that's all we can do in this unfair and painful ecstasy called life.

Boyko, there are a lot of things you can do besides setting up a state political campaign or drinking. I say this based on your quote that you've been waiting for things to change.

Volunteer at an agency that means something to you. Work on a campaign here locally. Go to many interesting and varied politcal meetings from Code Pink to Travis County Democrats, to listening to readings at Monkeywrench books, to building a blog network with other people who are as interested in political topics as you.

I suppose my response seems trite or boring, but real change can come in two ways-a sudden crazy break in the system, or step by painfully minute step.

Get out, volunteer and build a network. In a strange way, lowering one's personal expectations (from riding in to save the day to just getting the damn daily (political/personal/artistic) tasks done) helps raise everyone's outcome. If we all gave a tiny bit more, we'd all see a lot more change.


That's my middle aged, cynically hopeful hard won opinion anyway. That's what I do. I do it every day.

[York99]

there are a lot of things you can do besides setting up a state political campaign or drinking.

Very funny out of context.

[mpbrockman]

State drinking campaign, anyone?

[Jules]

State drinking campaign, anyone?

Now, see? That's the kind of leadership I'm talking about. Brockman, I'll be your campaign manager.

[Brian Boyko]

I don't know - it just... well, for the first time in quite a while, it felt like I was doing something instead of just impotently waiting for things to get worse.

A toast... to impotently waiting for things to get worse. Sometimes that's all we can do in this unfair and painful ecstasy called life.

Boyko, there are a lot of things you can do besides setting up a state political campaign or drinking. I say this based on your quote that you've been waiting for things to change.

Volunteer at an agency that means something to you.

If I knew of an agency that meant something to me, I'd volunteer at it.

Work on a campaign here locally.

Thing is, I really don't feel that participating within the system is something I could do - I desperately want to change the political system to something more akin to the European proprotional representation democracies - but I can't think of another person who even knows what they are.

Go to many interesting and varied politcal meetings from Code Pink to Travis County Democrats, to listening to readings at Monkeywrench books, to building a blog network with other people who are as interested in political topics as you.

Tried that in 2003. Ended up getting dissapointed. Everyone's so concerned with "winning" that they don't see the big picture.

I suppose my response seems trite or boring, but real change can come in two ways-a sudden crazy break in the system, or step by painfully minute step.

As a student of history, I've never found the second to actually bring change, except in the case of women's sufferage in Great Britain in the 1920s, and even that had much to do with WWI killing off many "heads of household."

Get out, volunteer and build a network. In a strange way, lowering one's personal expectations (from riding in to save the day to just getting the damn daily (political/personal/artistic) tasks done) helps raise everyone's outcome. If we all gave a tiny bit more, we'd all see a lot more change.

No offense, Jules, but I'm tired of not seeing any change no matter what anyone does.

That's my middle aged, cynically hopeful hard won opinion anyway. That's what I do. I do it every day.

[Jules]

Forgive me because I am extremely short on patience and my normal diplomacy. My life is, for lack of a better word, difficult at the moment.

I didn't take offense Brian, but what I see is someone rejecting support and help and ideas.

If you want to change the system here in America, then save your money and move to Europe and get involved in the political system there (through going to University there or here, or estabilishing residency and taking part in their system) develop a network and a strong reputation as somone who knows what they are doing. Then you can influence the system here.

As a student of history you will remember that even the American Revolution spanned a great many years with people working damn hard (people we will never hear of), to set up the strategies and structures to finally set the revolution in motion. FDR's policies took years to become firmly set in place and even our conservative/neo cons have been working tirelessly probably since the Carter Admin to set into motion the dismanteling of same, which we see today. Step by painfully minute step. Rove is a master at that, for one.

I have worked on numerous campaigns and have interned at the Texas House. Change happens slowly, but it happens. I've seen people care so hard, their eyes practically bleed.

The kind of sudden shift in political systems you are talking about usually is generated through radical acts and often, violence. Which is not necessarily a bad thing depending on circumstances, but the culture and society is then beset by people taking step by painfully boring step to set things back towards normalcy. Towards systems to support the change, through alliances and diplomacy relationships and and hard daily work.

Women's Sufferage, Integration, GLBT rights, rights for the Disabled etc. All these things have been worked on, pushed, cajoled, soothed, fought, for years and we have seen gains. And losses. And still we work hard day by day.

As for politicians focusing on winning? Of course they do. That's the game. I know little about the European systems of governance but I bet sure as shooting there is plenty of mental chess/gamesmanship and velvet lined gloves going on on those campaigns as well. Politics is about relationships and it can be glorious and it can be ugly. If people are involved that's always the case.

Unfortch, that is human nature and good politicians have to learn how to use it without abusing it. You have to find ways to blend the idealism and the cynicism.

I know things seem for shit right now. I get that. I get that my rights are being ticked away at (step by step, that's how they are doing it), I get that the media drains us of our senses at times and that people should be far more up in arms than we are. I get it. But if you want to feel alive and vital then don't just sit back because your campaign lasted a day.

Anyway, that's all I'm going to engage in this conversation. Do, or do not. There is no try, man. I have to believe that anyway. I've got vital and incredibly frustrating domestic things to take care of for the next bit.

I hope you find the path you are looking for, Brian. I do. Use your abilities to make things better.

[Brian Boyko]

Forgive me because I am extremely short on patience and my normal diplomacy. My life is, for lack of a better word, difficult at the moment.

I didn't take offense Brian, but what I see is someone rejecting support and help and ideas.

If you want to change the system here in America, then save your money and move to Europe and get involved in the political system there (through going to University there or here, or estabilishing residency and taking part in their system) develop a network and a strong reputation as somone who knows what they are doing. Then you can influence the system here.

As a student of history you will remember that even the American Revolution spanned a great many years with people working damn hard (people we will never hear of), to set up the strategies and structures to finally set the revolution in motion. FDR's policies took years to become firmly set in place and even our conservative/neo cons have been working tirelessly probably since the Carter Admin to set into motion the dismanteling of same, which we see today. Step by painfully minute step. Rove is a master at that, for one.

I have worked on numerous campaigns and have interned at the Texas House. Change happens slowly, but it happens. I've seen people care so hard, their eyes practically bleed.

The kind of sudden shift in political systems you are talking about usually is generated through radical acts and often, violence. Which is not necessarily a bad thing depending on circumstances, but the culture and society is then beset by people taking step by painfully boring step to set things back towards normalcy. Towards systems to support the change, through alliances and diplomacy relationships and and hard daily work.

Women's Sufferage, Integration, GLBT rights, rights for the Disabled etc. All these things have been worked on, pushed, cajoled, soothed, fought, for years and we have seen gains. And losses. And still we work hard day by day.

As for politicians focusing on winning? Of course they do. That's the game. I know little about the European systems of governance but I bet sure as shooting there is plenty of mental chess/gamesmanship and velvet lined gloves going on on those campaigns as well. Politics is about relationships and it can be glorious and it can be ugly. If people are involved that's always the case.

Unfortch, that is human nature and good politicians have to learn how to use it without abusing it. You have to find ways to blend the idealism and the cynicism.

I know things seem for shit right now. I get that. I get that my rights are being ticked away at (step by step, that's how they are doing it), I get that the media drains us of our senses at times and that people should be far more up in arms than we are. I get it. But if you want to feel alive and vital then don't just sit back because your campaign lasted a day.

Anyway, that's all I'm going to engage in this conversation. Do, or do not. There is no try, man. I have to believe that anyway. I've got vital and incredibly frustrating domestic things to take care of for the next bit.

I hope you find the path you are looking for, Brian. I do. Use your abilities to make things better.

Jules: First, if there's anything I can do to make your difficult life better, let me know.

Second, perhaps my sensibilities have been skewed because I always see (for lack of a better word) "the bad guys" gaining by leaps and bounds, and do not see the incremental change for the better - if it does exist.

[Jeff]

I'd like to add a sentiment here... I think that actions as quiet and simple as posting this kind of an honest discourse about politics and stuff on a message board-- even an improv collective message board!-- are valid actions towards realizing the more equitable system that we want.

I think that diligent activists are doing their thing, armchair pundits are doing their thing, cynical idea people who occasionally step forward with a burst of unorthodox activism are doing their thing, and even non-voters are doing something (in the sense that in the 2000 presidential elections, the majority of eligible voters in America voted for Nobody over the dubious options of Bush or Gore, and that phenomenon-- voting for Nobody-- means something in the um... arena of mass consciousness, for lack of a less pretentious term).

Simply put, we're all in this together, we all have something unique to offer, and we pretty much do what we can.

Also, we in this collective are, for the most part, comics, writers, and performance artists. Those are great avocations with which to help stoke the fires of Revolution.