Is the Reality Based Community up to the challenge? Is it up to holding the line against a presidency so blatantly, brazenly adept at lying without shame, without conscious? Is there enough left of this old community of bloggers to challenge the gas lighting that will spew doubt and deception as if it were Monopoly Money impersonating real tender? I don’t know. Many of the founders of the old blogs have moved on to higher more respectable platforms, blogging being a thing of the past for them. Other blogs have evolved beyond into social sites no longer capable of much more than being a part of the noise they once railed against so proudly.
I think the past is not the answer for the progressives of the internet. For one thing, there were still eight years of George W. Bush. Granted, there was the proud moment of not only electing but re-electing the first African-American President, Barack Obama. However, after eight years we find ourselves facing a Presidency worse than anything good ole’ George was ever capable of creating. And with an even more cravenly self-centered Republican party ensconced in Congress devoid of compassion and empathy.
And while we may look upon Barack as a source of pride, we are faced with Congress lost to us for quite some time. Gerrymandering, cronyism, and out and out corruption has kept the progressive from gaining any significant presence in the House of Representatives. And as for the Senate? We managed to increase our representation by what? One?
It is time to let go of the ideas of the past, be they noble or not. The fact is we managed only to elect a President for two terms. Otherwise, we’ve not managed to prevent the conservatives from holding an unequal share of power. Though I use the term conservatives with a bit of reserve, as the conservatives of old have been subjugated to the midden pile. But that is for another day.
For now, the progressives need to assess their goals, their tactics, and the outcome of the last 16 years and recognize that they have not been successful. We have railed against those who would proclaim the President a king, yet have we not treated it as just that? Have we not so totally focused on winning the Presidency that we failed to recognize the United States of America is not a dictatorship and the Presidency not the sole seat of power?
I’ve no doubt the incoming man who will hold the Office has not an inkling of what the Constitution even says. However, I believe that those of us on our side fail to recognize what the Constitution means, even if we know the words.
I do not have the answers to our dilemma. I don’t even have questions to help reach the answers needed to direct our future actions.
However, I do have hope. Change does not happen overnight. Indeed, it does not happen in years. It happens over decades, with losses, and failures at every turn. That is what we are in the midst of right now. Instead of pointing our fingers blaming each other for our current failure, let’s look at ourselves first. See how we failed to work with others, and forgot what it is we all have in common. Then and only then can we forge questions that will teach us answers, allowing us to emerge stronger, with more discipline and determination.
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