My Political Mindset

Over the summer I was participating in this bi-weekly Barnes ‘N’ Noble club called Story Tellers. Yes, Story Tellers. Well, I don’t know if it was actually called “Story Tellers” but we did sit around with blankets trying to out do each other in regard to fiction, non-fiction, story telling activities. Literally, no books, just our voices and our stories.

Did you know there are professional story tellers? The most known can make up to 60,000k a year (Amazing!!!). Hopefully you take this factoid and use google.com and meander for a good twenty minutes on the history of story telling and present professional story tellers.

My stories, unlike others, wouldn’t be about fairies and giants eating cows. Nah, my stories fell under the category of non-fiction. I would talk about girls, vandalism, bullies, and the story of how I became an ASUC Senator. Ah, I didn’t get to finish my story because…

As I was recalling the moment where I was “promoting my self-righteousness on upper sproul” one of the story telling members, a man of about fifty, stood from his seat and approached me with ferocious anger.

His haughty eyes stared into the soul of my pupils. I could see the bumps of eczema and scars on his face, the grinding of his jaw as his overbite protruded from his lips. All I could do was look at his face in bewilderment. I mean, I’m used to people getting heated in my presence, usually I have no idea why; in general, I pissed him off and this didn’t come as a surprise.

Me: Sir, what’s up? (I’m paraphrasing).

Sir: I hate politicans!! I hate them! Rawr! (verbatim; minus the Rawr!)

Me: I have no idea what’s going on…

Sir: You better you check your morality son, politicians are conniving and love to screw people over. Ethics, values, you guys have none of that!!!!!

Me: Ouch.

—

Ouch. It hurt. My heart was beating with a bottle of pain; glass pain; as if my heart was encapsulated by a contraption such as a pokemon ball or a brown box of death.  Either way, as I drove into the distance, I couldn’t help to lament and contemplate this man’s words. It really affected me because it made me second guess why I wanted to become an ASUC Senator in the first place.

Why?

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I ran with two positive ideologies (is this the right word); as this blog is long I will make it short:

i) Providing adequate services/resources/for the communities and people who I work with side by side. A group of people who share some sort of values that pertain to one singular belief of what is right, and what is needed to shape this campus in a forward progression.

ii) For myself; this space makes me happy because it’s one of the few spaces on the Berkeley campus that gives me some sense of euphoria. Selfish as it may seem, I don’t see it as a sacrifice or a “forced position” I needed to undertake for the communities I represent. If you love to do something won’t you do a better job?

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This year will be fun; I think myself and the other 19 senators will come together, like plato putty, to collaborate our ideas to make this campus run smoother. There maybe fights, screams, hitting, pillow fights, hugs, kisses, joyful bliss; whatever happens I hope in the end my positive [values/ideologies?] will stay in tact as I remember to always check my privilege.

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Thank you man with crooked teeth and fervent haughtiness you brought it back for me, you brought it back.

- Senator Jonathan Gaurano

Last 5 posts by Jonathan Onomatopoeia Gaurano

• YES!! - January 7th, 2010
• Uh. Oh. - October 27th, 2009
• What Mattered on Weds. Oct 6th - October 8th, 2009
• Marketing & Finance Officer Woes - October 1st, 2009
• UC Walkout - Thoughts by Nick Garcia-Guerrero - September 24th, 2009