I am so disillusioned.

[madaboutharry]

Everything is corrupted; The Supreme Court, the Senate, and the Congress. 40% of the population are authoritarians and follow the words of a man who is insane. The country seems caught in a spiral of madness.

We as a nation can not even agree that every American citizen has the right to cast a ballot without having to navigate obstacles.

A good man like Joe Biden, who deeply wants to make the lives of Americans safer, fairer, and better is kneecapped by members of his own party.

It is so screwed up.

[cilla4progress]

1. What a perfect post

to describe exactly how I feel.

I guess time to take a break and focus on nature and stories, till I can stomach "current events" again.

[madaboutharry]

3. I find escapes too.

[krawhitham]

13. Yes it is

[brush]

40. So spot on. The SCOTUS six are extreme wingers, Sinema has a gigantic ego...

and thinks she'll be running for president in '24, Manchin wants to keep his coal gravy train running and doesn't give a crap about the Democratic Party, and 40% of the nation continues to worship a megalomaniac who is truly insane and is responsible for the on-going pandemic and it's many variants by not modeling masking and distancing from the jump.

And then there's the insurrection, also a trump production, not to mention the refusal of the republicans and Manchin and Sinema to change the filibuster so everyone can vote without having to run through hoops over burning coals and broken glass. God, how did the nation get in such a hopeless condition and on the road to authoritarianism?

I have to take a break too as every day brings more grandstanding pronouncements from Sinema and Manchin of their refusal to budge from their recalcitrance.

It's too much.

[hadEnuf]

94. Manchin and Sinema are DINO's and now they have been exposed as such.

They must know that any stature they may have had in the Democratic party is not going to last after what they have done and are continuing to do.

So why haven't the party switches happened yet? They are obviously holding on for some reason.

[Dustlawyer]

63. Until and unless we end campaign donations, Super PACS, revolving door and dark money

we will not be able to solve most of our problems. It is a root cause. The other root cause is the influence of corporate advertisers on our media. Require truth in news and not let them hide behind, “It’s entertainment “ defense.

I beg DU members to start calling for these reforms to the exclusion of just about everything else except voting rights. It needs to be the #1 issue!!!

[cilla4progress]

87. We used to have caucuses at our house back in the day

before they changed the process here in Washington State.

Back when Kerry ran, I identified getting money out of elections / publicly financed elections as my #1 concern.

Guess I was prescient!

Of course, everything in this country is built on profit and corporate greed. Health care for all? Oh no, no - whatever will become of the insurance industry? Dealing with the climate collapse? Oh - the poor widdle gas and oil industry! Homeless? But, but, landlords!

SMDH.

[Maraya1969]

77. I've become very interested in sitcoms lately. I found the original "Odd Couple"

recently and am thoroughly enjoying it.

[a kennedy]

2. 😢 😢 😢 exactly right. I'm just sick. Really do not know what to do. It IS just sick.

[left-of-center2012]

4. Yep

[jcmaine72]

5. I share your disillusionment

I fear things are just going to worse from here. We're so divided as a nation right now that I just can't see anything positive ahead.

[SoCalDavidS]

7. That's Where I'm At nt

[wnylib]

64. I agree that things are likely

to get worse. I firmly believe that we will win in the long run, but it will get pretty bad before then.

We will win by holding onto our values and not giving up on the fight, no matter how bad it gets. We will have some serious, discouraging losses along the way which will test our ability to keep going, but we will win in the end.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. That about sums it up.

I was thinking of starting an Empathy Circle for Biden, since we're all in the same barrel.

[NewHendoLib]

8. me too. Some other things that have me disillusioned in addition to the ones you list

Inability to address climate change in any coordinated or meaningful way

EVERYTHING being about money, or power, or the "me me me" attention

Continued deep racism and other isms - fear of others, fear of "the other" - so many being left behind - our own little caste system

Devaluing of "truth" - now "my truth and your truth" - which are are seeing playing out with COVID

There's more, but that's enough!

It's awful.

[Joinfortmill]

9. Amen

[anti stupid]

10. yes a sorry pathetic country now ,,,thanks gop.

[Kablooie]

11. the Fourth Turning is about to show it's teeth.

https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Turning-American-Prophecy-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464

They predicted in 1997 that we would hit a crisis point for the nation in the early 2020s.
It's a theory they found looking at the cyclical events in history.
Looks like they were correct.

We may be in for a violent revolution either from the right or the left.

[YP_Yooper]

56. First time I read someone posting this on DU, TY

It really is a good read, and offers a pretty plausible explanation to the cultural and societal changes going on.

Long story short, buckle up. It's going to be a rough ride :/

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

62. Left?

We don't have a Left in this country.

[Evolve Dammit]

93. We do. The messaging is just not available as RW smear machine dominates airwaves. The "left" is

still there but quiet due to lack of media voice, IMHO.

[sarcasmo]

12. I'm going with Lowered Expectations. Expect little and when something good happens, be excited.

[bringthePaine]

14. no real news - every yin gots a yang, y'know?

[XacerbatedDem]

65. I agree, but what helps me...

when I went through my divorce, I was devastated, barely survived, felt I had little to live for. What saved me was the advice I got from a close friend to focus on the little things that bring me pleasure every day, like a sunrise or a sunset, or a joke told by a friend that made me chuckle. While there were times that brought me to my knees, somehow I stayed in the present and built upon those little things that filled my heart with hope.
Sad times are when hope fades, never give up on hope.

[FoxNewsSucks]

16. It is disgusting.

And we can't even say what we think of the turncoat republicon-enablers.

[Celerity]

21. Coal & Curtsy will go down in infamy.

[notinkansas]

50. coal & curtsy - absolutely perfect!

[LowerManhattanite]

51. SO PERFECT.

Coal & Curtsy

[paleotn]

32. I've been cutting loose....

and haven't been hidden yet. Yet that is.

[pidge]

17. I am very old,this too shall pass.

[Mr.Bill]

18. If we had the social media and 24 hour cable news/propaganda

in the 60s that we have now, I think the 60s would have looked far worse.

[jcmaine72]

24. Maybe...

But in the 1960's, we would've been groovin' to the armageddon optics brought on by social media & cable news to far, far better music.

[Mr.Bill]

26. Have to agree about the music,

some of which is still relevant today. They will have to pry my vinyl albums from my cold dead fingers.

[paleotn]

34. You may have a point....

Ironic that Sirhan Sirhan was up for parole recently. We forget assassination was an actual thing back then. Much less the Vietnam war and the division it caused. Rough decade to be sure.

[YP_Yooper]

57. So was shooting college students and running tanks in the street :/

[LW1977]

19. The shrew that killed Democracy.

[dixiechiken1]

20. Nailed it.

Just can't help feeling like we're soooo eff'd in the dark.

[Lonestarblue]

22. I share your angst.

But I am reminded of the undocumented comment attributed to Churchill that “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.” We are going through dark times now, and people are being led down those dark paths with lies that we have a hard time refuting because the listeners are predisposed to believe anything they’re told. But lies have a way of coming to light.

Young people especially see the dangers of climate warming and the loss of personal freedoms threatened by Republicans. The Supreme Court should be scaring many of them into voting for Democrats as they roil the country by allowing vigilante justice and overturn reproductive rights—as their warmup act. LGBTQ rights will be next on the agenda, ut they will go too far and people will revolt against what Republicans are selling. We may be in for a tough decade, but we will survive.

[RussBLib]

23. deep breath

giving up is not an option, then they surely will win

think of the good things
not everything is shit
keep some perspective

meditate
medicate
cogitate
rejuvenate

organize

[58Sunliner]

29. Thank you.

[paleotn]

35. Well said. Thank you.

[XacerbatedDem]

66. Exactly!!!

[Moebym]

25. And the MSM has not been doing its job

Which is reporting news in an objective manner.

Instead, they are continuing to pretend that the GOP is a sane political party and that their disagreements with the Democrats are only on policy. They can't see that our country is in crisis because the GOP is well on its way to becoming a fascist party, and thus is unfit to govern.

And another thing - its not just the two illustrious Senators (who shall not be named) that have been kneecapping Biden, but members of the leftmost flank of the Democratic Party as well.

[Timewas]

27. for the first time

In my life, all 80 years of it I considered leaving this country, if I were younger I know I would but just too damn old for that big a move now...

[monkeyman1]

28. if you were ever was in combat with this kind of attitude, ya' come home in a body bag !

that simple & is exactly what the Republican want's to see out of ya's !! do not like quitters ! nobody was put on this earth to just roll for the for the likes of the republican Taliban ! joe b. has done a lot & there is lot more to go !! take that to the bank from all of us veterans !

[58Sunliner]

31. Yep.

[madaboutharry]

36. One can be disillusioned and still want to fight.

Just as in Buddhism; suffering and happiness can coexist.

[58Sunliner]

30. Gonna have to get mad and get busy. That is what I'm going to do.

[Picaro]

33. I am with you

I find myself utterly depressed by the state of things. My fellow citizens know little or nothing about how our government is supposed to work. Most of them routinely confuse the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. Some of them are elected representatives.

30% of the population would gladly vote for anything as long as it is cruel enough and hurts enough of the people they don’t like. Strangely enough most of the people they hate aren’t white and Christian.

It will take a lot of luck to survive this

[pazzyanne]

58. "My fellow citizens know little or nothing about how our government is supposed to work."

Truer words were never spoken. Any conversation with my trumper family members lays bare their pitiful knowledge base. That is why you cannot hold serious discussions with them. They believe what they are spoon fed. Sad - and totally infuriating.

[Mickju]

37. I am disheartened right now.

[Miguelito Loveless]

38. Just when I think it can't get worse,

it just does.

[secularhumanizer]

39. Then it is time.....

"A good man like Joe Biden, who deeply wants to make the lives of Americans safer, fairer, and better is kneecapped by members of his own party." Then it is time to stop whining and roll up our sleeves and open our wallets and purses and do the hard work to turn at least two Red Senate seats Blue so we can tell Manchin and Seman to go pound sand.

[Baked Potato]

41. I feel it. On the good side...

These institutions are holding:

Armed Forces
FBI
DOJ
Cabinet Departments

Republicans flirt with RW seditionists to win elections. When buffoons like Greene crow about 2nd Amendment solutions, those comments are directed against Republican lawmakers themselves.

Republican fear hierarchy:

Losing money.
Losing power.
Their own monstrous constituency they helped create.

[plimsoll]

42. Lets look to John Stuart Mill

“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”

I object to the wrongs done to our society. Those who claim that those acts are done in my name lie. They are the bad actors, and those who watch and raise no objection are aiding and abetting the destruction of our society.

[gulliver]

43. Maybe we're just becoming disabused of our illusions

Law has its limits. I always assumed that even if we got a strong voting rights law, the red states would just bottle it up in litigation and ignore it. Even if the litigation failed, they could still just ignore the law. And, while they hate our side, they would ignore the law. They would say, "Make me, lib!"

Nope, the only way out of this is to get our asses to the polls and work to get our opponents not to hate us. The democracy and Constitution can only do so much. They actually take damage if we don't act to strengthen them.

[Tribetime]

44. I agree even if Trump is charged they will just move on to another demon

I just don't see how things will change when we have stations like Fox News and others around

[mrsadm]

45. I am so with you

[Richard58]

46. I feel your pain.

Our country has gone mad. Fascism is on the rise.The lunatics control the asylum. The Orange Idiot may well be President again in 2024 and this time he will not relinquish power. I fear it will get much worse before it get better.

[lucca18]

47. I feel the same way.

I am sad.
As President Biden has said; he is fighting for the soul of the country.
Why do some people make it so hard to do so?
Tomorrow is another day, to keep fighting for democracy.
But, today I feel sad.

[progressoid]

48. On the plus side, Glenn Beck has Covid again.

[pazzyanne]

59. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Couldn't happen to a more deserving fellow imho!

[LowerManhattanite]

49. Coal & Curtsy have done their damage...

…All I can hope for is that the courts do their damage to some of those un-shielded by plausible deniability. It’s the only “justice” I see good people getting and my faith in that wavers more with every passing day.

Rules don’t matter. Integrity doesn’t matter. Law doesn’t matter. 🤷🏾?♂️

We live in a time of blunt force and we are poets against rank barbarians.

[JudyM]

52. Yes. We need to start making our case in much plainer, starker phrases repeated in all interviews.

We are not making our case in sound bites as we desperately need to.

Is our leadership consulting with psych communication experts at all? It’s our weakest point, they need to get on it.

[Tommymac]

60. Ys we ARE making Our Case but the 1% controlled M$M is not giving us air time.

It is so simple to see. Read any major newspaper, watch CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, ABC...they ALL are not on the side of the Dems.

It is because cartels run by Blackwater, Murdoch, and 4 or 5 others control 90% of ALL global media outlets.

The 1% WANTS authoritarian rule everywhere because Unregulated Capitalism.

[JudyM]

73. All the more reason for us to tighten our messaging.

Every sentence out of a GQPer’s mouth is from a tight script that literally echoes every other GQPer, so that is the messaging that’s reported. We use lots of words, assuming that helps, but it doesn’t when we’re not receiving fair coverage. We need to hammer the same short, evocative phrases repeatedly, as is their habit, if we want to win.

[wendyb-NC]

53. It feels like that

Sure does, quite often lately. We can't give up or give in, though.

[llmart]

54. I get that way some days too...

but then I remember this quote from the wonderful John Lewis: "get in good trouble".

Now, let's all put on our big boy/girl pants and get out there and get in some "good trouble"!!

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

55. We must be resolute in unifying and increasing Dem party membership,

and left leaning independents, in order to vote as many fascists out of office as we can, and rid ourselves of those Democrats who are disloyal to our President and our country, and replace them with honorable Democrats who can be counted on to do the right thing in every situation.

Don't get disillusioned, get even.

The best revenge is kicking them to curb in humiliation.

[LaMouffette]

61. I often feel that way these days. Then I remember that that is how the Republicans WANT us to feel.

They want us to be disillusioned. To be discouraged. To give up hope. To give up trying.

And if that sounded like it came from a Barack Obama speech, it didn't, but I just watched a video of President Obama on his and Michelle's website, so I am probably channeling his syntax!

Here the link to their website for a little injection of hope for you:

[link:https://barackobama.com/|

Just remember: If we can end slavery, we can end fascism.

[Wednesdays]

67. "Never despair...

But if you do, work on in despair."
-- Edmond Burke

[lark]

68. I am so sad and angry about this nonsensical mess caused by freaking idiots hurting themselves.

The whole world is insane, and now my personal world is insane as well. Bad times but getting worse.

I am hoping the Jan. 6th hearings can move some folks, cause some indictments, which could certainly be helpful in many ways.

[Stuart G]

69. Everything is ..NOT CORRUPTED. JOE BIDEN IS NOT CORRUPTED.

Many of us are NOT corrupted...Some systems are corrupted. Some people are corrupted. But if Everything were
corrupted, Joe would also be corrupted. Joe is NOT CORRUPTED!!!

[madaboutharry]

75. StuartG, It is a figure of speech.

I also wrote: "A good man like Joe Biden, who deeply wants to make the lives of Americans safer, fairer, and better is kneecapped by members of his own party."

[PatrickforB]

70. Well, as an erstwhile Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema is not doing the party,

OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE much good. Not at all. She and Joe Manchin have been marching to the beat of a different drum. The problem is, if we want to save the Republic, we all need to be marching to the beat of Biden's drum.

[leftyladyfrommo]

71. I am way more optimistic. I am old so I have seen

some really big things happen. Somehow we survived.

In the 50's it was Russia and the Commies. I was in elementary school. We were scared to death. We wore dog tags .

The 60's was a ton of protesting and anger. Those were scary times. A lot of violence.

The 70's in KCMO the mob controlled everything. They were killing each other in broad daylight.

It's always something and we have always managed to preserve our Democracy.

[BlueJac]

72. Agree 100%

[Mike Nelson]

74. Well...

... Here's some Howard Zinn, to help ease the pain:

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

[madaboutharry]

76. Thank you.

[cilla4progress]

88. This is beautiful.

Is it from A People's History?

I subscribe to this philosophy. I think about it a lot. I strive to live my life in this way. In fact, I'm going to print it out and post it on my wall.

If you can help with one thing, though: how do you view this in the current framework of climate collapse? What I mean is, IS the future infinite? I don't think it is ... for humans here on earth and many other species we are decimating, as well as the oceans, sky, earth herself.

How I've been finding peace with it is to think / believe that the earth will live on, once we humans have killed ourselves off. Just a small spark of life can spawn multitudes.

I also believe that Indigenous people and their wisdom may be the path to survival. I hope they do survive the damage Western thought and "civilization" has wrought. It would be a great and true outcome.

[Mike Nelson]

91. Not sure...

... maybe if Zinn wrote A People's History...

I put this on my wall when Trump was elected. I do think, if the climate worsens, Earth will continue to support some form of life. Maybe the planet will cleanse itself of the polluters...

[cilla4progress]

92. Zinn wrote it -

A People's History of the United States. Should be required reading for high school students. The TRUE history of this country - the Tulsa massacre; Columbus violating Indigenous peoples all over this hemisphere; labor, women's, LGBTQ fights.

I just gave it to my daughter. It's so readable. One can read any individual chapter and glean the TRUTH, not necessary to read the entire book at once.

[ElementaryPenguin]

78. Perfect post!

I agree each of your points, and I'm equally disillusioned. Contemplating how I can get my family to move to New Zealand at some point.

[cilla4progress]

89. Um, they won't have you.

They aren't stupid.

Sorry...didn't mean to offend personally; it's just a fact.

[malthaussen]

79. Steps are being taken.

JoD has just dropped indictments for Seditious Conspiracy. That's a tough charge to prove, so you can bet they wouldn't indict anyone for it unless they felt pretty sure of their case.

A man who hopes to move a mountain must begin by removing the small rocks.

-- Mal

[rumleyfips]

80. Silly Sinema

I see elsewhere suspicions that Sinema wants to run for president and this is her chance to weaken Biden. After she finishes the ritual knifing of Joe, repugs Especially Mitch will drop her as fast as Trump dropped Cohen. Her career will be over and she will have done it with her own mouth. She will troll for appointments or lobby jobs , but who will hire someone neither party trusts ?

[Hortensis]

81. Well, all we can do is clean ourselves up and do what we should in future.

One thing, barring death, it's never over for anyone, no matter what horrible things we bring down on ourselves and others. We all have to live with it.

Might point out to others that it's a lot easier to preserve what we already have than to rebuild after 30 years of having our nation and its people formed by a far-right police state.

[vlyons]

82. Welcome to Kali Yuga

We live in degenerate times

Kali Yuga (Sanskrit: कलियुग, romanized: kaliyuga or kali-yuga) means "the age of Kali (demon)", "the age of darkness", "the age of vice and misery", or " ...
?

[PatrickforB]

83. Yep.

Yes. If the American people were actually smart enough to impose good policies aimed toward that, they would advocate two things that would solve a lot of problems really fast:

A. Force changes in corporate charters requiring a stakeholder approach, wherein the interests of workers, consumers, and the environment were all held coequal with the interests of shareholders. Consider: Since the MI Supreme Court ruling against Henry Ford in 1919, shareholder profits have been king. Ever wonder why so many CEOs are sociopaths? Because if they are doing their jobs well, they will vigorously go about the following immediately upon taking office:
a. Shareholders OVER workers:
i. Bust the union.
ii. Drive wages and benefits down.
iii. Steal the pensions, if they can.
iv. Engage in systematic wage theft, if they can get away with it.
v. Cut costs so working conditions and safety are worse. Think Amazon workers having to pee in bottles because the bathrooms are too far away to get to on break.
vi. Not give workers enough hours so they qualify for benefits.
vii. Pass more and more of the healthcare costs onto the workers by working with the healthcare insurer to impose higher and higher deductibles.
viii. Create an environment of fear amongst workers.
b. Shareholders OVER consumers:
i. Cheapen the component parts to cut cost of sales.
ii. Cut the size of the product but charge the same (Brits call this ‘shrinkflation’).
iii. If the product proves unsafe, calculate whether it is cheaper to just pay out claims for consumers that are maimed or killed, or whether the product ought to be recalled and fixed.
iv. Use excessive and environmentally unfriendly packaging, ostensibly to prevent theft.
v. On monthly services, purposely make the plan so complicated that consumers are confused so you can overcharge them systematically.
vi. If somebody buys the product or service online, trick them into monthly autopays they have to opt out of, and then make it hard to do that.
vii. When a customer calls the ‘care center,’ always try and upsell.
c. Shareholders OVER environment:
i. Foul the environment whenever you can get away with it. If you get caught, try and pass the cost of cleanup to taxpayers.
ii. Pay for pseudoscientific ‘studies’ whose sole purpose is to cast doubt on how you are harming consumers (think big tobacco), or the environment (think big oil’s current effort to sow doubt about global warming).
d. Shareholders OVER the common good:
i. Spend whatever you need to in order to get US Congresspeople elected to both the House and Senate who will vote your way. It costs a few hundred thousand to elect a Representative, and a few million to elect a US Senator. What could possibly be a better investment?
1. Pay ‘think tanks’ like ALEC to draft legislation that will benefit you at local, state and national levels, and use the US Chamber of Commerce and corporate owned media to frame issues in such a way it encourages politicians to vote your way.
2. Pay talk radio hosts to sow dissention and distrust among groups of people, such as different races, people who live in urban and rural areas and so on. Pound in wedges anywhere you can. This gives the people a visible ‘enemy’ so they won’t notice how you are systematically stripping the treasury.
3. If you are about to go out of business or get caught fouling the environment in a big way, try and pass as much of the cost as you can on to consumers.
4. Fight tooth and nail against any new corporate taxes and for the introduction and continuity of loopholes, like the one that allows companies to deduct much of the executive compensation. This has driven executive salaries up into the stratosphere.

So there you have it. Our brand of capitalism SUCKS. If we evened out the tax code so corporations were paying in a fair share of government revenue – right now they pay in only 6.8% of the total collected by IRS, and should pay in around 30-35%. Individual taxpayers like you and I are paying in the lion’s share at 86%. This should be around 45%. In the meantime, the billionaire parasites pay very little in taxes, if any, and it is no surprise they, and corporations, are the ones who benefitted the most from the grossly irresponsible 2017 tax cut.

[CrispyQ]

84. We should be leading the fight on climate change, not fighting fascism within our own country.

I think as a collective our species sees where we're headed & we're just sort of losing it—collectively. There's a global sense of hopelessness & powerlessness, & I don't see it getting any better as the environment deteriorates & we continue to do nothing. There's a lot of "get what you can while the gettin's still good," going on. Also, social media hasn't been good for our real time communities, IMO. We've lost hold of the idea of the common good.

It's looking bleak for humanity.

[cilla4progress]

90. I have thought this exact thing for several years, Crispy!

That our species knows in its DNA that we are headed for hell on earth. We are running out of basic resources needed for survival - water, for example. There are just too damn many of us. Earth has exceeded her carrying capacity. COVID is a stark example - the canary in the coal mine.

And what would the typical basic human do in that situation? Grab all for him or herself. Try to preserve their privileged status, others be damned. Develop private space flight...

Maybe acting selfishly and greedily in this moment is the rational response?

[myohmy2]

85. true...

...but look at the bright side



...

[DownriverDem]

86. Then there is McCarthy's plans

McCarthy has said if he becomes the Speaker, he will kick off Dems on committees and impeach Biden. We will also see the 1/6/21 insurrection hearings come to an end. What more can we say to get left leaners to understand and vote in the Midterms?