Hair of the Dog

I heard the expression, "Hair of the Dog" recently. I had no idea what it meant. I was told by the Canadian who introduced me to the phrase that as an American I should have known it, and its meeting: have another drink.

This is said to be the golden rule for those who find themselves hungover. Drink some more and it will make it all better.

I saw this picture in today's NYTimes and was reminded of the expression. After binge-drinking bottles Bush, Rove and Cheney, America has finally woken up and we've got some pretty gnarly hangover symptoms (courtesy of NPR):

Economic Crisis
Job Losses
Collapsing Industries
National Security
The War in Iraq
Energy Costs
Health Care
Global Warming
Executive Powers
Campaign Finance Reform
Equal Justice
Private Contracting
Immigration Rules
Telecommunications
Labor organizing
Education Reform

Just to name a few.

It is my most earnest and sincere prayer that America doesn't fall off the wagon again and have another drink.

A friend of mine here in Japan who is a recovering addict once told me that getting sober was the easy part, and that staying sober... that's the hard part. America's got to stay sober because it's only with the clarity that comes with sobriety that we can fully see these issues, the extent of the damage caused by them and address them the best way we know how - one day at a time. And we don't have a choice because if we have another drink the list gets longer, the damage deeper.

My friend also told me that when asked how long she's been clean that her only response is, "I woke up today at 9:30," implying that her fight is for today. It's not about yesterday, or tomorrow. It's about right now.

I voted.
I've said, "Yes we can."
But what am I going to do today?
What am I going to do today to make sure the changes I've been championing come to fruition? What can I do in my little corner of the universe to Ghandi-it up, and be the change I want to see in the world?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but damn it if I'm not going to try and figure them out, today.