I think after all is said and done

[vercetti2021]

I think I'm going to quit on politics for a little while. Last night and right now still I'm just feeling like this is not helping my mental state. Like at all. I need a break from this shit show.

America is completely different now.

[Claustrum]

1. I agree. Luckily, with Biden, we can take a few months or a few years off and still be ok.

[Salviati]

3. Not too long though

If we don't fight like hell in 2022 and 2024 it's going to be really easy to backslide. We've got to temper our expectations of what can be done if we don't take the Senate this time, and keep up the energy to fight for it in two years.

[Claustrum]

5. No worries. My revenge on Trump and his enablers will last at least 10 years.

I will vote in every elections and straight dem ticket......

[TwilightZone]

2. "America is completely different now."

It really isn't. At heart, this is what half the country already was and has been for perhaps decades.

Trump just exposed it, amplified it, and gave it a platform.

[griffi94]

12. Longer than decades.

Since our inception.
The willful ignorance of half the citizenry is based on the idea of American Exceptionalism.
As a nation, we've never been any more exceptional than any other advanced nation.
But the MAGAT's have been weaned on the idea that by simply being American, they're better.
In the last 25 or so years, that mindset has become more focused. Especially in regions like the south.
The people there tell themselves myths about their history that are taken as gospel and will be defended past
the point of rabidness.

[TwilightZone]

16. True, though I think Trump is a culmination of the 70s/80s to date.

Nixon, Reagan, Atwater, Newt, Fox News, Rush, et al. 40 years of propaganda and confrontational garbage.

But, there's no doubt that the underlying issues and attitudes have always been there.

[griffi94]

20. Yes, the propaganda arm is very much present.

Fox, Rush, and really all the RW media have amplified the myth.
It's why people in Alabama think their state pays for NYC.
Of course, the wilfulness to be ignorant used to stop when it came to issues such as health and science.
Their denial is getting stronger. At least among the MAGAT's

[TwilightZone]

21. Agreed.

It even extends to matters of life and death, of course. I have friends and family in some of the hottest CV19 areas in the country right now, in very "red" states, and the fact that people in those areas make decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their friends and family based on which side of the aisle they're on is crazy. Wearing a mask is political? Er, what?

[hlthe2b]

4. Heal yourself, but remember a Biden win without the Senate means he's going to need all of us

to have his back. We can't turn away or his term becomes a lame duck from the first day.

[KPN]

6. yeah, but it's so gall-dang addicting! Especially to those of us who think.

[BannonsLiver]

13. It's become entertainment for everyone

A team sport. That’s not healthy, as the last 20 years clearly illustrate.

[KPN]

15. Truth in that. Entertainment replaces "thought' and productive purpose/pursuit

as the dominant mode.

[Big Blue Marble]

7. Try if you can,

unfortunately, I think we are in for a rough ride that will be hard to ignore, no matter how
stressful it is. We take a breather then gear up and be ready to rejoin the fight for our
country.

Think of our grandparents and great-grandparents fighting WW2 uncertain of the outcome
and facing daunting odds they kept going and so do we.

[Turin_C3PO]

10. At least Joe will be the executive.

Think how bad it would be if Trump had gotten four more years.

[Big Blue Marble]

18. Yes assuming Joe wins,

and he will if Trump doesn't steal it in the courts in an outright coup, Joe will need
all of us. We have to understand, now more than ever, this is the challenge of our
lives.

Even though we wish we could wake on and it will have gone back to our old
life, it will not. This is our new normal and we have to accept it.

[spicysista]

8. Your view of America is different.

It is as it has always been to me.

Take all the time you need. We must all focus on our health (mind, body, and soul). Breathe. Rest.

Don't take too long, though. We need you. But, we need you healthy.

[Clearly fogged in]

9. It's a good thing that you know differently.

I've been telling myself the same thing all morning. Then along comes reason. Give up? Just let them do whatever they want? Obviously we can't protect the large minority from destroying themselves, but we're next.

[Stallion]

11. Fell Asleep Fearin' We'd Lost...woke up with Joe and Mika Suggesting We Were Heading to Victory

happy I fell asleep with TV on. I don't usually watch that show

[Amishman]

14. same, or at least dial it back.

We're going to have the senate blocking anything major. THe only sliver of hope is is the Pubs edge goes down to 52 or 51, we can try to get Collins, Romney, and a few other partially sane red senators to work with us on non-controversial items.

That means we're essentially back to the late Obama administration for at least two more years. I can take a break and recharge with a sane president and not much happening.

[cayugafalls]

17. Take care of yourself.

We're political junkies. What do we replace it with?

I know I am an addictive personality and politics and DU has held sway over me since I landed here years ago. Once I decided to join, I was all in and there was no going back. If perchance, I had stayed an unregistered lurker, I might find it easier to pull back, but I have made virtual friends here and I look forward to their posts.

I find comfort in knowing that their are others like me that just want to have a voice and feel that there is place for them to talk and be heard without condemnation.

I woke this morning, took a breath, remembered my loved ones and counted my blessings, then logged on to DU.

We will survive together.

Love you all...

[BainsBane]

19. I'm thinking the same thing

I put so much energy and mental space into this election. We can still pull it out, but the fact it is this close tells me our country is diseased.

Oh, and fuck pollsters. I don't want to see another poll as long as I live.