I'm in a bad place. [View all]

[Atticus]

I have voted and contributed and marched and protested and canvassed and worked my ass off at times to elect common-sense people-oriented progressives. I have spoken in public, written countless LTE's and guest editorials and argued face to face with people who were threatening me with imminent harm.

And, none of it seems to have helped at all, long-term.

The Ernsts and Cruz's and Gohmerts just keep getting elected by a populace that is apparently more interested in Dancing With the Stars than what abominations their good ol' boy Congressperson has planned for them. Shutting down the government, gerrymandering, voter suppression and government policy for sale to the highest bidder are all apparently OK with "Joe Six Pack".

Seared into my memory is the Kentucky woman interviewed on TV before the last election (auction?). She wore a big smile as she gushed about how "wonderful" it was that she now had health insurance through her state's "KYNECT" system. And, when asked who she'd vote for in the Senate race, she---still wearing that big smile---replied: "McConnell---I ALWAYS vote Republican".

I think we are past the political tipping point: I don't think our democracy can be revived by the normal political means. We just can't fight the money and the power assets already seized by voting for new leaders. Hamilton described "the people" as a "great beast" and I think that beast is now so co-opted, coerced and distracted that it cannot pull itself out of the plutocratic quagmire into which it has waded.

I think that the PTB are afraid that we will revolt, literally. That there will be blood in the streets and, worse, much property destruction. But, I don't think they need to be concerned. As long as beer and a little weed are kept available and most have access to cable TV, the billionaires can do whatever amuses them or further enriches them, including killing our planet.

That's where I'm at.