I appreciate a good sympathetic reading, but ultimately you will not change the people who insist that Trump is a more honest choice for progressives. that's because the whole motive there is punitive--not about the slow, often demoralizing work of activism so much as sticking it to Joe Biden.
I mention this mostly because I sometimes feel I'm going crazy on here! but truly, the impulse to somehow punish Democrats by ushering in Trump is just another way of cosplaying for the so-called revolution that will only ever exist online in quarreling leftist forums.
unfortunately, governance mostly sucks! the system of government we have in the states is constitutionally disposed to be especially sucky! most of the time, you will not feel good about making choices on election day; that's because the real work happens outside the polls.
There's a part of me that believes that a source of our current malaise is that we bought into the consumerist vision of government as a service that we purchase instead of a framework that we need to participate in.
While the true consumers of government (oil corps, real estate lobbyists, Bros pharma and tech, banks etc) are people who absolutely should not be in charge of governance.
And we live in a very big country. With 50 states plus. That means changing course is very very hard.
Plus there basically weren't democracies out there when the country was founded. They couldn't copy the best out there, they were it. The founders were a bit scared of democracy themselves, they ...
they wanted to make sure change could not happen to quickly, and look at Trump, you see why. Change does happen, and you can be part of making it, the protests are part of it, but look at how hard they come down on unwanted change. It's a fight, but a slow one. If you need quick change look local.
I mean, let's not give the founders too much credit. They had 500 years of Magna Carta and over a lifetime of parliamentary sovereignty from the Acts of Union, and those are just from the UK.
I have been pummeled by people here who are telling me that instead of voting for one of the two viable choices on the ballot, I should be working to restructure society.
Im 67 and have been at that for a bit . While I applaud the optimism that thinks we can do it by November; not gonna happen.
Yep. I’m a public defender and I volunteer at my local food bank. I’m all about improving society by non-electoral means. But if we don’t vote, I’m going to be arguing to worse judges, and the food bank is going to be overwhelmed because people will lose food stamps. Voting is part of it.
voting for judges i always look at the review list and vote out anyone without a perfect rating, as most of them have one
is this a good policy or am i judging judges wrong
Varies by state. Mine has a judicial performance evaluation commission, and I follow its recommendations (reelect or don’t) unless I personally know the judge and disagree. So I don’t know what a perfect rating in your state means or what it consists of.
Oh I feel this with my whole soul. I'm only in my 40s, but I've worked in public health for almost 20 years and I'm so damn tired of these fights.
Holding back the darkness isn't great, but it's a damn sight better than nihilism and surrender to the worst of humanity.
Your comparison is predicated on the system's death leading to a rebirth of a glorious new system. That's not only far from certain, but historically unlikely.
There are no swift deaths in civilization; only protracted debilitating terminal illnesses. Then you have to wail for the fungi to grow from the decomposing body and the whole damn cycle to start over again. 😉
"You should work to restructure society" what, exactly, do you think voting for a candidate is? Do you even know what that means, child? Because that is the whole ACTUAL PRAXIS OF VOTING.
No offense, but if you’ve been doing this for a while and your strategy has been largely ineffective while everything has continually gotten worse, don’t you think that calls for a fundamental reevaluation instead of doubling down?
No offense, but if all you leftists, especially young ones, actually voted at the same rate as older, more conservative people instead of cosplaying at some magical revolution things would be worlds better. You want change, push for it how and where it matters.
Senator isn't subject to gerrymandering and neither is President. If you're not aware, the Dems wrote and passed (in the house) a voting rights act that would ban partisan gerrymandering. Just need enough Senators willing to break the filibuster for it.
Not easy, not impossible.
Kaitlin I have very seriously been considering muting almost every political term I can think of for exactly this reason
I am a quarreling leftist myself, but I am getting really close to telling some folks "I really don't think about YOU ending up in a camp; I'm worried about ME ending up in one"
Like I said a few weeks ago people should vote their conscience but people have very obviously moved from "I'm personally not voting for Biden because of the genocide" to "I hope Biden loses."
Which moves me from "I don't like that but I accept it" to "go fuck yourself."
I'm right there with you @ilisabat.bsky.social, with the significant difference than I'm not directly in the crosshairs of the crazies the way you are.
Only shallow-thinking morons and psychopaths buy into the accelerationist bullshit.
Trump: I'm going to kill these people.
Biden: Uses title 9 and the justice department to fight red state anti trans laws
Person who wants me to believe they will fight a revolution to stop Fascism: there is no difference between these two.
Me: I'm in danger.
People not on the list: there
