my first experience with politics was a running argument with a friend in high school over the nixon-humphrey race. not that i was passionate about hubert, i just hated dick. although i lost the argument in the short term, nixon's eventual resignation was one of the best birthday presents i have ever had. i never forgot the lessons in democracy of that time.

i have often found myself in 'hold your nose' mode in the voting booth. but i truly liked bill clinton. i still believe in make love, not war. that was what i voted for. i was furious at his impeachment, not just at the architects of the effort, but at the electorate that swallowed the thin disguise pasted on the attempted coup. i wanted to scream from the roof tops. i wanted to grab strangers by the lapels, and yell in their faces. how could people be so blind?

when the florida debacle occurred, my frustration began to boil over. as i watched the hijacking, i wondered, how can we ever criticize the mugabes, the baby docs, the daleys, the tin pot dictators of the world, as they steal elections. what i wanted to tell the crooks was this- the whole world is watching. i began to fantasize, not of homicide, but of buttons. i dreamed of making buttons with this slogan, hundreds of them, and deploying them, guerilla style, in the dark of night, in the commuter train stations in the cozy, republican suburbs near me, sticking them anywhere they could stick. it was a dream of infecting sleeping minds with the virus of clarity and common sense.

as the war drums gained volume, the fantasy surfaced again. after attending the october peace march in d.c., it just had to become a reality, or i was going to explode. when i got back home, as soon as i had some sleep, and unwound the kinks in my back from the bus ride, i hit the internet looking for a button machine i could afford. i bought an inexpensive plastic model, and what seemed like an impossible to use up supply of 1,000 parts. it didn't take long to go through those parts. it seemed like i had nearly 1,000 things to say. with photoshop, my inkjet, and google image search, i was off. it was probably the most satisfying thing i have ever done. i gave the buttons away as fast as I could make them, passing them out to nearby friends, mailing them to those far away, offering them on chatrooms that i frequented, even those that had nothing to do with politics. if you commented on one of the half dozen or so buttons that i was wearing at all times, i was thrilled to whip it off and hand it to you. i posted a note on the code pink website, offering free buttons. i sent batches to peace groups that sold them to raise money for their cause. they traveled to a half dozen states, and to the very republican suburbs that I had dreamed of infecting. i tried to keep them free, but several art galleries asked to sell them, so i let them charge for them. after about 5,000 give-aways, i had to start asking for money myself. i had to replace the inexpensive machine, because i had beaten it to death. and i had the chance to buy a second-hand color laser, so they no longer faded in the sun, or melted in the rain

at a recent dean meetup, the two organizers told this story, which showed me that my venture is absolutely worthwhile- the two women had been friends for quite a while. both were business owners who lunched regularly to commiserate and brainstorm about business issues. then one day one of them showed up for lunch wearing a "no war" button. business was forgotten, and political action took over their relationship. i can only hope that someone wearing one of my buttons has had a similar epiphany.

i have probably invested more money than i will ever recover, but it is not about the money. it is about sharing ideas with people, whether they buy a button, or just pour over them, nodding yes and chuckling, or visiting this web site.

i can't wait to count the hits.

to learn more about mo cahill and her art, please visit mocahill.womanmade.net.