What keeps you going?

[Stinky The Clown]

Patriotism?

Your kids?

Self interest?

No wrong answers on this one .......... please elaborate if you have the time and energy.

[villager]

1. my kids, mostly

no choice really, as a parent.

Plus, in spite of it all, still a deep abiding interest in the world.

And maybe, on top of all that, something numinous?

[Deja Q]

2. Empty desires and self-interest.

Which means self-interest.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. Guinness!

It's so much more than just a breakfast drink!

[Dinger]

4. There"s ALWAYS Hope

I believe that, and I aslo believe that everyone has some good in them, waiting to come out.

[hobbit709]

5. Sheer cussedness

I refuse to let the universe win.

[leftofthedial]

6. my kids

and caffeine

[Warpy]

7. Right now I'm going through the grief process

on top of watching my country head down the toilet, so I'm just putting one foot in front of the other, hoping the black clouds will lift and I'll be able to look at all I've accomplished and feel good about it.

The eye surgery didn't help..

[texastoast]

13. Those one foot in front of the other days

just suck. Takes forever just to make it to the shower. Be patient with and good to yourself. Peace and compassion sent your way.

[Warpy]

27. Thanks, luv

Kind words help.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

43. Road trips, and especially nature -nt

[primative1]

8. Im with Vinnie on this one ...

That plus I was cursed with some animal kind of survival instinct that keeps me from looking for an extension cord to hang myself with :)

[Gregorian]

9. Bicycling. DU. Cats. B3TA,

The thought that when Bush and his gang go down, it will feel SO GOOD.

Looking for beauty. What beauty is left, that is.

And tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe tomorrow will be better. Because today sucks!


edit- Oh, I forgot. Ecclectic music.

Right now I'm listening to Miles Davis doing his Porgy and Bess. Incredible.

[EST]

Good grass.

And a deep, abiding interest in freedom and justice.

[classof56]

10. DU

Oh, and then there's the Merlot.

Tired Old Cynic

[tulip]

11. Sheer Orneriness and

a bottle of Blue Moon!

[serryjw]

12. Obsession

Evil should not triumph

[RufusEarl]

14. No answer

I've been sitting here trying to think of an answer to you post, and to be honest i can't come up with one. Perhaps my wife of 23 years, and i have a creative outlet.

But other then those two possibilities, it must be sheer tenacity.

Peace!

[Nay]

15. It would have to be self-interest. I have only 8 years to go before

retirement, and I really can't see leaving the country although I could (I have Canadian citizenship). I doubt any of my family would go with me, and I have my first grandchild on the way. I can't see myself being a grandma one week a year. It will be an everyday thing for me. Unfortunately, I am stuck in a regressive city and am surrounded by RW morons.

Long ago I elaborated a little on my idea of patriotism. I have always felt that adherence to the American ideal does not require me to revere the ground that I walk on. It's an idea, not a place or a thing, and other peoples and places can adopt this idea for themselves and their little spaces on the planet, so I am not wedded to the US of A as a place, even though my family has been here since 1640 and has had 2 members fight in the Revolutionary War. I assume they are both rolling over in their graves right about now.

[NI4NI]

16. Fear for my grandbabies future, controlled anger,

and a reassurance in witnessing that alot of Americans are waking up more and more each and every day even if the MSM isn't.

[Maccagirl]

17. What's the fucking alternative?

Suicide?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

18. Good parental training In not to let bastards push me around w/o a fight

[Totally Committed]

19. Without a doubt or a moment's hesitation...

it's my kids and grandkids, and always has been. I love them all so very dearly. I would have given up, gone away, and settled into a life "of quiet desperation" by now if it were not for them and my wish that their lives would be better than mine. I'm not so sure I'll get to live to see that wish ever come true (and I'm not sure any longer that it ever will be true), but I will have the peace in my heart of knowing I didn't die without putting up a fight.

Thanks for asking, Hubby... It's always nice to have a reality check like this.

TC

[OKNancy]

20. History

I know we have been through bad times before. I lived through Nixon, assassinations of two Kennedys and MLK, Kent state and Vietnam.
The internet has certainly made things better in many ways since then.

[Totallybushed]

22. Isn't that the truth?

They can't shut out opposing opinions anymore.

[texastoast]

25. As long as we keep the internet wild and free

And many of the communications companies are working hard to take it away from us or making full access prohibitively expensive for lots of people. We are in a holding pattern right now, but the backroom is smoky and steaming with new connivances.

Fuckers.

http://www.savetheinternet.com/

On edit: Must read before hitting post.

[Totallybushed]

37. Wild and free!!

I like it. Open to all, may the truth show the foolishness of the arguments of the powers of darkness to all who are willing to see.

[saltpoint]

44. Very good point. Absolutely. /nt

[Totallybushed]

21. Barbecue.

No, seriously. To me it is a symbol of family and friends, good times, and the American way. Besides I like the way it tastes when I do it. Homemade ice cream to top it off. Potato salad and cole slaw. I try a different recipe for both at least 3 times a summer. Wash it all down with a Bud or three.

[Gemini Cat]

23. Baseball. Lots and lots of baseball.

I need to know who will be in the playoffs.
Who will win the World Series.

That and the hope we can take back the House and Senate in '06 and the Whitehouse in '08.

[GrumpyGreg]

24. Hope and a wee bit of optimism. I've been around a long time

and seen the good times and seen the bad times.

Neither last forever.

[Ringo84]

26. What Keeps Me Going?

I try to be optimistic: "someday, Jackass and company will get what's coming to them". Music (The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Mothers of Invention, Pink Floyd, Songs in the Key of Springfield). Farting Preacher videos. DU. Telling the truth about this regime online.
Ringo

[saltpoint]

28. The Writer's Almanac by Garrison Keillor. Joni Mitchell singing "Blond in

the Bleachers." Bill Moyers on any subject at all. RFK Jr's fine piece in ROLLING STONE today. A stand of sycamore trees along a creek bank. Andrew Holleran's new novel, GRIEF. All of Andrew Holleran's previous novels. Mario Cuomo's book, WHY LINCOLN MATTERS. Mary Renault's wizardry at grafting the tragic beauty of ancient Greece onto my paltry imagination of the present hour.

Barbara Boxer. Obama's soul-ripping keynote address in Boston in 2004. John Edwards' decision to hike up Kilamanjaro with his late son, Wade, and his steadfast emotional bond to Elizabeth, holding her health over his political career. John Kerry in NW Iowa, quoting Franklin on the nature of our first form of government ("A republic, ma'am, if you can keep it.").

Jon Stewart. Lewis Black. Flip Wilson. Dusty Springfield singing "Son of a Preacher Man." The sensational humor of DU posts by so many. Films by Altman. The scene in ET where Eliot tells his older brother's pal that ET cannot be "beamed up" to his home planet, that another strategy must be used ("This is REALITY, Greg!").

Butterscotch pie. I'd kill six Senators for one slice of butterscotch pie. Hell, I'd kill a dozen if I could pick which senators. (Relax, Mods, I'm KIDDING!)

Duke Ellington's Paris concerts. The lone, brave soul who stood before the advancing tanks at Tianneman Square. The wild, impestuous, noble gang of people who defied the bigot cops who tried to raid the Stonewall Bar in 1969. St. Francis as opposed to Pope Leo X. Matt Fox as opposed to Opus Dei. Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg.

Personal bonds of essential value. Decades-long political involvement.

And in Jackson Browne's phrase, "a faith in the distance, moving farther on."

[Stinky The Clown]

31. .

:thumbsup:

[saltpoint]

34. And let me return that thumbs up to you, too, Husb2Sparkly.

You put a great question in front of us tonight on DU.

[Pierogi_Pincher]

29. To honor my grandparents who trusted their innermost and

took a leap of faith to come to America from Europe. To honor my (deceased) Dad who served in WW2 (USN) in the Philippines. Plus a host of other reasons. I haven't come this far for nuthin'. And I won't give in or give up!

P_P

[CTyankee]

30. Run off to Europe once a year!

In addition to everything you said, plus exercise.

Head must get on straight. Go to old Europe, eat good food, experience art and architecture and tradition and history. Take Italian lessons. Learn to say "Buon giorno!" loud and clear.

Life is short, history is long. Get perspective.

Read Emily Dickinson and Shakespeare. Take classes in both.

Art, art, art always saves you. Play that music, get to that art museum.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

32. Momentum.

[yurbud]

33. curiosity--I like to see how things turn out for good or ill.

[Stinky The Clown]

35. There are four main 'things' that keep me going .........

Sparkly

SparklyJr

Son Number 2

Son Number 1

And one about to be added ... Sparkly and my hope that GF of No2 will soon be our daughter-in-law (that's a call for everyone's best wishes! :) )

We were all in the car on a day trip a few weekends ago. The kids started talking about where they see themselves now in life and where they want to be. It occured to me in listeneing to them how so very much each generation is like the one before it. Different times and different places, but always just the same at the core.

And yet, it has been postulated over and over that the generation now in their late teens to late twenties will be the first generation in the history of our country to see a life that is less well off, less comfortable than that of their parents.

My mission is to make that prediction inoperative.

[saltpoint]

39. It sounds to me as if there's been quite a hell of a lot of

first-class parenting going on in that house.

I say congratulations, and hurray.

[mtnsnake]

36. Looking ahead is what keeps me going

Looking ahead to things like:

Bush getting impeached

political justice being served

the next Democratic congress and president

seeing my kids be successful & happy

my next hike up a mountain in the beautiful Adirondacks

dropping a few pounds

DU

some great rock and roll music which never gets old no matter how old I get

that long drawn-out mug of coffee, first thing in the morning in my Aladdin thermal mug

some evenings of fishing with my buddies after a long day working

the Ottawa Senators winning a Stanley Cup (The NY Rangers, my lifelong passion, kept me going until June 14th, 1994. Now that the Sens are less than 2 hours away, I've kind of fallen for them)

hanging out with Mrs mtnsnake

my next good novel to read

learning something new

and last but not least, the next good laugh.

Looking forward to all of the above is what keeps me going.

[killerbush]

38. Indictments for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and other slime

In the White House.

[Zorra]

40. Something I've always believed to be true.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

[kineneb]

41. Various things

My garden; being able to:
-tend my roses- 20+, mostly antique varieties
-add fruit trees every year and have a small orchard
-grow my own vegies

Other things:
-Henrietta, the Pet Chicken, a wonderful bird-person
-Music- medieval, Renaissance, and beyond
-my piano students- watching them improve
-knitting- while sitting in all the medical institutions Hubby must visit
-Ballet - great exercize with good music
-Rotary- doing good things for others, while having fun
-living in California - not just a state but a state of mind, the only other place I would live is in Europe
-having the meds that make it possible for me to function

Politics:
-hoping that the Little Emperor won't ruin the country too much
-hoping that that someday that this corrupt government will get what it deserves

[The Magistrate]

42. Morbid Curiousity, Sir

[Popol Vuh]

45. Knowing

that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

n/t

[AtomicKitten]

46. Hope.

[Vinca]

47. Despite my chronic bitchiness, I'm an eternal optimist.

It's probably mental illness and no one dares tell me, but I can always see the light no matter how far it is down the tunnel. Of course, someday I'll be looking at the light and I'll be dead for lack of health insurance, but what the hell.:silly:

[OneBlueSky]

48. optimism might be a little . . . well . . . optimistic . . .

personally, I tend to agree with the answer Pete Seeger once gave a reporter who asked if he was optimistic about the future . . .

"No," said Pete. "But I'm hopeful." . . .