I am drunk, angry, and feeling impotent....

[Liberal Veteran]

I am mortified not only that so many Americans allowed themselves to buy into the false promises of the republican party and its sham compassionate conservatism and its sham Christianity that seems to have nothing to do with charity and love and hope and goodwill toward others, even those who are different.

I am angry at the democratic leaders who haven't had the spine to stand up to this.

There are so many failures on different levels and even within myself, that when I turn on the TV, I see the rage of Caliban at seeing his own face in the glass.

And I take no pleasure in the implosion of the false promises of the right wing. I see only the shortcomings of a nation so worried about their own personal well-being, they forgot that civilization isn't a group of individuals all trying to get ahead for themselves, but a group of people working toward the greater good of everyone in the society.

And I am angry at the lessons we should have learned long ago, that our "society" refuses to acknowledge. Racism, poverty, education, health care, infrastructure....the total apathy toward those things has blown up in our faces like a social atom bomb.

Now I feel impotent to change things. How do we turn the tide back and rectify the mistakes our country has made?

[IChing]

1. This week sucked but I know it open alot of eyes for people

that have been so blinded by this regime's bullshit .
So you are not impotent to change things
you are the change. Just by that statement.

[Guaranteed]

2. The impotent, vestigial tail of the Democratic Party

is going to die. It *has* been dying. It's been falling off, piece by piece, since 1994.

Luckily, though, there is a growing and vibrant aspect of the party, as well.

Don't worry. This is going to take much, much time. But things will turn out well in the end, as long as we *maintain our focus* and don't get caught up in stupid shit- much of which we should already know as "stupid shit," since it didn't work in the 90's.

Make our principles and our points count.

[NMMNG]

3. I'm with you

I am mortified not only that so many Americans allowed themselves to buy into the false promises of the republican party and its sham compassionate conservatism and its sham Christianity that seems to have nothing to do with charity and love and hope and goodwill toward others, even those who are different.

Me too. They were sold a bill of goods, and we're all paying the price. The sham Christianity has nothing to do with goodwill toward others, especially those who are different.


And I take no pleasure in the implosion of the false promises of the right wing. I see only the shortcomings of a nation so worried about their own personal well-being, they forgot that civilization isn't a group of individuals all trying to get ahead for themselves, but a group of people working toward the greater good of everyone in the society.

Too true. I keep reading posts by freepers, diatribes by right-wing politicians, articles on the antics of self-indulgent celebrities and the like. Then I read of people losing their health or even their lives--all for the "crime" of being too poor to evacuate in the wake of a catastrophic hurricane. Afterward I see and hear people blaming them for this, as well as for their desperate attempts to stay alive.

This, and your paragraph above remind me of George Michael's song Praying for Time. I don't believe in God but the lyrics (sans religious content) are so apropos to this situation:

These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much
But we'll take our chances
Because god's stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us alt out to play
Turned his back and all god's children
Crept out the back door

And it's hard to love, there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too late
Well maybe we should all be praying for time

These are the days of the empty hand
Oh you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year

This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here

So you scream from behind your door
Say "what's mine is mine and not yours"
I may have too much but i'll take my chances
Because god's stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you

That he can't come back
Beacuse he has no children to come back for

It's hard to love there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too late
So maybe we should all be praying for time