Thank you, Norm, for putting yourself out there and writing this piece so quickly. Many people, I think, will be carefully crafting their thoughts over the next hours and days, but you have already identified several areas for future planning that will be necessary to carry on without giving up hope.
One thing you said was that we (concerned citizens "we") need to play politics better (..."this much seems obvious - it is imperative that Democrats, Progressives, and Liberals learn how to get better at politics. Because right now, we suck."), and while I cannot find fault with your statement, there is something about that thinking that makes me uncomfortable. I guess it is the idea that has been floating around in my brain for some time - that if the MAGA movement has "won," it is because they have used a tactic that involves throwing out a barrage of "crap" that ranges from the bizarre to the criminal so quickly that it is nearly impossible to react appropriately, ethically, legally, and morally. We have seen it happen over and again that an outrageous falsehood is tossed into the media maelstrom, and before that can be responded to, clarified, or stopped, it has been picked up and repeated millions of times. Stopping this kind of thing takes time - identifying what is legal, what is not, what is morally wrong, what is a call to arms, what is justified, what is a cry for help, and the possible responses go on and on. I, like many people I am sure, have thought we need to be using a similar tactic, even if it feels wrong to do so. Then I stop myself, because “the end does NOT justify the means.” That is the kind of thinking that I was taught as a child, and it took me years as an adult to understand what it did to my sense of self to give free reign to rage (justified or not). I work hard now to recognize anger (from irritation to rage), understand that it is a call-to-action from myself to myself and that it usually represents a feeling of hopelessness in the face of abuse (or something on the continuum of mistreatment), and come up with a plan of action that doesn’t involve reproducing that mistreatment. It is that way of thinking that means that I refuse to arm myself if I am feeling unsafe, and therefore increase the proliferation of weapons on hand in the general public. If I am targeted for abuse, I leave (something we are actually taught to do when we study “non-violent crisis intervention.”). That led me to leaving the country as soon as I was legally able to do so – a decision I have never regretted.
Back to the point, I hope the Democratic Party doesn’t expend energy learning to “do dirty politics” better or give in to the revenge motive that should remind us that there is something seriously wrong here, not that we need to be as unethical as they are. It is clear that there needs to be more accountability for those who have played fast and loose with the laws that exist to hold miscreants responsible for their misdeeds, and with the people who facilitate their behaviour. Holding the players in the January 6th assault on the Capitol accountable and jailing those most responsible for how far it got out of hand was a good beginning, but the ones who actually masterminded this assault were never held to task. If he had been, he might not have been available to run for office again; but it is what it is, and we must go from here. The thing that perhaps we should do that is taken from the GOP, or perhaps the MAGA playbook is to use the courts more and not wait until there has been an over-the-top breach of conduct before we begin to insist on accountability. And, if “they” start to scream “persecution,” as I’m sure they will as they have been each and every time there was an attempt to hold them accountable, we must not let that stop us, but instead practice saying every time it is required something akin to “I’m sure you don’t like being held accountable, but this is prosecution, not persecution, and we will continue to use this means as long as necessary.” It will take people who devote themselves to this cause in every way necessary, but what else should we be spending our time doing?
This is only one of the things that you said this morning that tweaked a response from me, Norm, but I have to stop here, catch my breath, and think about how to direct my energies in the near future. Thank you, in advance, for listening to my first thoughts on your excellently written response to one of the most devastating mornings of my life, and I am sure the lives of many, many others.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Vickie. To state the obvious, it is a dark, dark, day. I am of the belief that Progressives must figure out ways to appeal to the red state voters, without compromising their core values. A difficult needle to thread, but as long as the Electoral College is still in place, everything has to go just right for Democrats to win these national elections, and having to write off large swaths of red states makes the path to victory that much more difficult. I don’t have the answers to this conundrum, but, to me, they’ve got to get the politics figured out. Relying on the famed Blue Wall is a crapshoot that does not always pay off.
Thanks for reading my stuff, Vickie. I appreciate it.
Nice, Vickie. You held your composure and I give you so much credit for that. Stay Strong and pass it along. Buying weapons only supports the NRA, so the whole things is so twisted now it is hard to untie the knots left behind. Kate
For me, each dark day gets darker, though I try to stay positive and strong.....I just keep thinking of all the horrible things that are going to happen now. Each day is a shovel into Hell. I'm angry that our Constitution didn't have stronger rails against people like this being able to even step into the position of running for President of this Beautiful Country. Putin has already shown up on my computer screen and locked it once today. (Ctl-Alt-Del) will remove it and reboot. I blame the people in office who were too weak to stand up and impeach him for disorderly conduct and have him removed ages ago. So many things were ignored and the air filled with so much vile it just overcame all of us. I went from a glass half full to a glass half empty. I am sad.....
Hang in there, Kate. I wish I had some magic words of encouragement to share. Alas, I do not. The next 4 years are going to be tough, and we’ll have to get through it as best we can. Speaking for myself, I am angry and want it to be over, but I know giving up is not an option.
Thank you, Norm, for putting yourself out there and writing this piece so quickly. Many people, I think, will be carefully crafting their thoughts over the next hours and days, but you have already identified several areas for future planning that will be necessary to carry on without giving up hope.
One thing you said was that we (concerned citizens "we") need to play politics better (..."this much seems obvious - it is imperative that Democrats, Progressives, and Liberals learn how to get better at politics. Because right now, we suck."), and while I cannot find fault with your statement, there is something about that thinking that makes me uncomfortable. I guess it is the idea that has been floating around in my brain for some time - that if the MAGA movement has "won," it is because they have used a tactic that involves throwing out a barrage of "crap" that ranges from the bizarre to the criminal so quickly that it is nearly impossible to react appropriately, ethically, legally, and morally. We have seen it happen over and again that an outrageous falsehood is tossed into the media maelstrom, and before that can be responded to, clarified, or stopped, it has been picked up and repeated millions of times. Stopping this kind of thing takes time - identifying what is legal, what is not, what is morally wrong, what is a call to arms, what is justified, what is a cry for help, and the possible responses go on and on. I, like many people I am sure, have thought we need to be using a similar tactic, even if it feels wrong to do so. Then I stop myself, because “the end does NOT justify the means.” That is the kind of thinking that I was taught as a child, and it took me years as an adult to understand what it did to my sense of self to give free reign to rage (justified or not). I work hard now to recognize anger (from irritation to rage), understand that it is a call-to-action from myself to myself and that it usually represents a feeling of hopelessness in the face of abuse (or something on the continuum of mistreatment), and come up with a plan of action that doesn’t involve reproducing that mistreatment. It is that way of thinking that means that I refuse to arm myself if I am feeling unsafe, and therefore increase the proliferation of weapons on hand in the general public. If I am targeted for abuse, I leave (something we are actually taught to do when we study “non-violent crisis intervention.”). That led me to leaving the country as soon as I was legally able to do so – a decision I have never regretted.
Back to the point, I hope the Democratic Party doesn’t expend energy learning to “do dirty politics” better or give in to the revenge motive that should remind us that there is something seriously wrong here, not that we need to be as unethical as they are. It is clear that there needs to be more accountability for those who have played fast and loose with the laws that exist to hold miscreants responsible for their misdeeds, and with the people who facilitate their behaviour. Holding the players in the January 6th assault on the Capitol accountable and jailing those most responsible for how far it got out of hand was a good beginning, but the ones who actually masterminded this assault were never held to task. If he had been, he might not have been available to run for office again; but it is what it is, and we must go from here. The thing that perhaps we should do that is taken from the GOP, or perhaps the MAGA playbook is to use the courts more and not wait until there has been an over-the-top breach of conduct before we begin to insist on accountability. And, if “they” start to scream “persecution,” as I’m sure they will as they have been each and every time there was an attempt to hold them accountable, we must not let that stop us, but instead practice saying every time it is required something akin to “I’m sure you don’t like being held accountable, but this is prosecution, not persecution, and we will continue to use this means as long as necessary.” It will take people who devote themselves to this cause in every way necessary, but what else should we be spending our time doing?
This is only one of the things that you said this morning that tweaked a response from me, Norm, but I have to stop here, catch my breath, and think about how to direct my energies in the near future. Thank you, in advance, for listening to my first thoughts on your excellently written response to one of the most devastating mornings of my life, and I am sure the lives of many, many others.
V
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Vickie. To state the obvious, it is a dark, dark, day. I am of the belief that Progressives must figure out ways to appeal to the red state voters, without compromising their core values. A difficult needle to thread, but as long as the Electoral College is still in place, everything has to go just right for Democrats to win these national elections, and having to write off large swaths of red states makes the path to victory that much more difficult. I don’t have the answers to this conundrum, but, to me, they’ve got to get the politics figured out. Relying on the famed Blue Wall is a crapshoot that does not always pay off.
Thanks for reading my stuff, Vickie. I appreciate it.
Nice, Vickie. You held your composure and I give you so much credit for that. Stay Strong and pass it along. Buying weapons only supports the NRA, so the whole things is so twisted now it is hard to untie the knots left behind. Kate
For me, each dark day gets darker, though I try to stay positive and strong.....I just keep thinking of all the horrible things that are going to happen now. Each day is a shovel into Hell. I'm angry that our Constitution didn't have stronger rails against people like this being able to even step into the position of running for President of this Beautiful Country. Putin has already shown up on my computer screen and locked it once today. (Ctl-Alt-Del) will remove it and reboot. I blame the people in office who were too weak to stand up and impeach him for disorderly conduct and have him removed ages ago. So many things were ignored and the air filled with so much vile it just overcame all of us. I went from a glass half full to a glass half empty. I am sad.....
Hang in there, Kate. I wish I had some magic words of encouragement to share. Alas, I do not. The next 4 years are going to be tough, and we’ll have to get through it as best we can. Speaking for myself, I am angry and want it to be over, but I know giving up is not an option.
I won't give up and I won't go back. I am just full of despair after being so near to what could be. It, too, shall pass.....