We can do this people... we have done it before.. we can pull the country back from the edge.

[Peacetrain]

Those of us who remember the sixties as older teens and twenty somethings.. can attest to this.. we have been in horrid dark places of the soul.. thinking our country would not find its way back.. but shoulder to shoulder people of good intent.. young, old, every color of the rainbow etc etc.. pulled us forward..

I have seen cities burn, been gassed by the police on the U of M campus while waiting for a bus.. fought to have women be able to have bank accts in their names.. removed the law that husbands could commit wives to asylum's on their own..fought 15% interest rates to buy a home.. 20% to buy a car.. the good old days were not so damn good.. but people of good intent kept their eyes on the prize..

Universities were shut down.. old people ate dog food for dinner.. you have no idea. Children were bombed in a church.. young men who did not get their butts into college or Canada went straight to war..

But people of good intent shouldered together and we pulled forward..

We can do this.. we can do this.. we can do this

[LakeArenal]

1. From your lips to Democracy's ear.

❤️?🩹☮️✌️

[Samrob]

80. Back from the edge. Sure. But not from the abyss. nt

[Bayard]

2. I appreciate your optimism

But I don't think anything in our history compares to the intent to overthrow democracy we have now. Nor the outright evil and meanness.

[Elessar Zappa]

12. The congresses of the 1850s were far worse than now.

We had slavery. Women couldn’t vote. Jim Crow, where the democracy situation was worse since virtually no blacks could vote. This isn’t the worst time in our history by far.

[CrackityJones75]

18. If we have to go back near 175 years....

If we have to go back near 175 years to find something worse that ain’t much comfort. Also times have sure changed and the outcome if we do not succeed is going to be awful.

[Elessar Zappa]

28. Not even 175 years.

We weren’t a true democracy until the 60s when the voting rights act was passed. Segregation didn’t end until the late 60s. We’ve had a relatively good run from the 70s till 2016, when Trump was elected. Now we’re on a downward spiral again. But it can be reversed and I think it will. This new generation is much more liberal than previous generations according to polls. We just need them to vote.

[CrackityJones75]

30. Well it will take decades.

If they overturn Roe it will take decades or more likely to seat new justices which will be needed. Even if we were to codify it, they will rule that u constitutional. I am 47. If they overturn it I doubt I live to see that reversal.

[wnylib]

63. The 1930s were no picnic.

Starving and homeless people from the Depression. No jobs. The extreme right and extreme left gained in polarizing numbers. Famous "heroes" like Charles Lindbergh and businessmen like Henry Ford openly embraced fascism and Hitler. Ford published horrible antisemitic diatribes in his own self published paper. A priest, Father Coughlin, embraced anti-Semitism and preached it publicly. Lynchings of Blacks escalated, with impunity. Eugenics supporters were sterilizing Native American, Black, and southeastern European immigrant women without their consent and even without their knowledge, giving fake reasons for surgery. Shanty towns sprang up around the country. People stood in lines for hours to receive a loaf of bread.

Then we had a world war and our Naval fleet was destroyed, killing hundreds of sailors.

Not so long ago. My parents lived through that era.

[leighbythesea2]

70. I have a book

Essentially of published letters sent to Eleanor Roosevelt from the depression years. I think i got it visiting Arthurdale in West Virginia. (The experimental community)

It's the most gut wrenching, pitiful, but polite and proud reading. People with no food, and no money, asking for help, but thanking her for reading their letter and god bless America, still.
I read it sometimes, bc first, yes, it's not that long ago, and also, my grandmother lived those times. Which reminds me again, it wasn't that long ago.

Dorothea Lange photos get me too.

[wnylib]

72. And we survived. We got through those times

and became a world leader.

We can survive the present. We can turn back fascism and reclaim democracy.

[leighbythesea2]

73. I believe so too

Democracies are hard work, but we are hard working people. It's in our cultural dna.

[Politicub]

33. This is cold comfort.

Change took generations. We are still living with the legacy of chattel slavery.

It isn’t comforting to the LGBTQ community and women that decades of hard-won progress can be swept away in an instant by the Supreme Court.

Was it worse at one time? Yes. But that doesn’t erase the fact that a right-wing hellscape is forming right before our eyes.

[KPN]

39. The difference is we moved away from those things long ago. Given that and the very real threats

to democracy and virtually all past progress we've made socially, economically and environmentally, I would say we are indeed in one of, if not the worst times; the one possible exception that comes readily to mind being the Civil War.

[Celerity]

17. Only once before, and that was the US Civil War. There is no Lincoln to come to the rescue now,

and even he likely could do nothing about what is happening now.

[certainot]

23. rw radio is the main reason and it would be easy to destroy

syracuse university broadcasts sports on 9 radio stations anchored by nationally known racist liars, echoed usually by the local blowhards on the same stations who will now pivot to fighting off gun control to make sure every nutjob in the country can still get assault weapons and semi automatics.

they have no excuse not to start looking for apolitical alternatives — they already use 22 apolitical radio stations… these stations all followed the limbaugh lead — excusing and denying racism, opposing any gun control, vilifying BLM, attacking kneeling athletes, denying global warming, and they are all anti choice.

i’ll bet the buffalo bills, NY knicks and nets, also do similar to support rw radio. and in PA, next door, from fakenewsradio.org --PENNSYLVANIA 14 Penn St. 11, Pittsburgh 2, Temple 1

that list shows syracuse uni with 6 xlimbaugh stations, but there are at least 9 rw stations that showed up so that list undercounts rw radio stations for many of those 87 schools. it’s fucking ridiculous.

all those schools need to look for apolitical alts and when they just start talking about it advertisers will head for the hills, and the ad industry will break up the only unique advantage the cons have

i think this is a number for undergrad admissions
315.443.3611 and an email [e-mail]

they’ll just pass it onto the athletics dept who will do nothing. but the school groups (social justice, dem, progressive, etc) might like to hear.

here’s 9 out ot 31 stations they broadcast sport on. that killer was probably in range of a couple of these. he may have bene mostly an internet guy but upstate NY is bathed in this bullshit. the university is in between his town and buffalo by main hiway, i think. these are just the more famous racist blowhards

Albany WGY Beck, Travis and Sexton, Hannity, Shapiro

Auburn WAUB AM 1590 Kilmeade, Levin, Shapiro,

Buffalo WHLD AM 1270 Bongino, Shapiro, Levin, Larson

Geneva WGVA AM 1240 Savage

Geneva WGVA FM 95.9 Kilmeade, Shapiro, Levin

Hornell WLEA AM 1480 Kilmeade, Travis and Sexton, Hannity

New York City WNYM AM 970 Gorka, Prager, Sekulow,

Newark WACK AM 1420 Beck, Hannity

Rochester WHAMAM 1180 Travis and Sexton, Hannity, Levin

[erronis]

57. This is a scary list of RW outlets in the area. Part of the plan to take over comms

while the liberals were worrying about NPR and PBS, which had/have a much lower penetration into homes and businesses.

The salem, bott and other xian networks carried this stuff in lots of smaller outlets. (Not to cast aspersions on xians, I'm sure there are some good people on that side....)

[certainot]

71. there's a list of limbaugh stations out there by state. 600 of the loudest. that's 15 per state

and there are at least that many again that aren't x limbaugh

that more than an avg of 30 per state and they're locally and nationally coordinated, reaching 50 mil/week, what i last heard.

[MerryBlooms]

74. The left doesn't doesn't support left talk radio or tv

Solidly, like the right supports right wing radio and TV. As soon as a left side commentator makes a comment that isn't glorifying our leaders, there are calls for boycotting, calling those people every name in the book. Heck, we have people who won't listen to Rachel Maddow, because she's too 'repetitive ', you name it, they have a reason. Chris Hayes, Yep, he said something they didn't like, never watching him again! It goes on and on. We sink our own ships, and not only that, we literally turn over radio stations to the right, because we don't fight to keep them. Thom Hartmann is a left voice, can't listen to him, he used to have Bernie Sanders on regularly, plus, he was on RT for a while. Fuck that! Who cares what actual content he carries. Nope, you can blame rw radio and TV all you want, but we on the left need to get our shit together and start supporting left voices. Tune in to the left channels, why the hell is Fox leading cable news? Because we on the left don't have CNN and MSNBC, running in the background while making supper.

[certainot]

79. i don't think the solution is to compete with the monopoly - mom and pop vs walmart is not

the strategy - we need to destroy it. talking about the rw radio monopoly, what bakes up the lie turd pie the fox whipped cream sits on.

i talked to someone briefly at an office at the uni of Syracuse who was incensed to hear the school supports 9 rw radio stations. and wanted a lot more info so she could share it. if syracuse U starts discussing looking for apolitical alts others will have to and advertisers will want to bolt before they get boycotted. the ad industry will have to force a lot of stations to change format or at least offer 'balance', opening up stations for liberal talk.

without that monopolized repeated lying fox can't exist

a lot of that ignoring of left wing media is baked in. and there's trolling going on. a big part of that is lack of recognition of the huge part rw radio has played. it barely exists to the 'analysts' and political leaders in cities.

[Haggis 4 Breakfast]

68. I agree with you, Bayard.

I survived the 60s -- TWICE -- and I don't ever remember anything this bad. We were never confronted with the knowledge that we could be only ONE election away from fascism. Remember that it was Barry Goldwater that told Nixon he lacked any support in the Senate.

[NewHendoLib]

3. The media was different back then.

I am not at all optimistic.

We're trying to fight a nuclear war with butter knives

[PXR-5]

10. Exactly!

And no internet.

Also Reagan gutted the Communications Act of 1934.
Before that you couldn't broadcast 4 letter words over the air, including Ham and CB radio.

Now you can broadcast blatant hate speech anywhere.

[Jerry2144]

16. And still no four letter words

I would rather hear those four letter words over AM radio than the constant hate, racism, and “Christianity” that is broadcast now. Note off they would actually broadcast the gospel of love thy neighbor, not not the hate, then that part wouldn’t be so bad

[SoonerPride]

4. I wish I had your optimism.

I am much more pessimistic about not just our future, but the whole planet.

I think our time is running out.

[hamsterjill]

15. I think we are out of time.

I see nothing that gives me much hope. I wake up every morning in tears. I don’t know whether to just give up or to try to fight to the death. There doesn’t seem to be many of us who care any more.

[CrackityJones75]

19. Geez Sorry to hear that.

I hope you have a good therapist. I am not mocking but if you are waking up every day in tears something is off. Things are not great but you seem to be in an extreme place right now. Be well.

[hamsterjill]

24. I'm honestly fine.

I just feel things very intensely. I also was raised with a great sense of patriotism and love for my country. I have family that fought in both World Wars and in Viet Nam, and I’d like to think they fought for something worth having.

The sense of loss of our rights is (or should be) very real to all of us. Perhaps the fact that I live in Texas and am actually witnessing first hand what the GOP is actually getting away with gives me a certain vantage point.

But this IS reality and unless we stop them, our democracy is gone. There’s no amount of therapy that’s going to change that.

[CrackityJones75]

26. I guess for me I am too angry to cry.

But that has always been me.

Stay well. Keep fighting.

[hamsterjill]

29. I cry and let it out. That is healthy.

Then I get mad and DO something. Even if it’s small. Today, I had a conversation with a Republican neighbor and when he said something about Beto, I said “oh, he’s got my vote”, and ended the conversation. No need to try to convince him. But no need not to express my preference either.

[Mme. Defarge]

5. Yes we can!

[snowybirdie]

6. I'll attest to your memories

We were on the other side of you back then. A young police family in Chicago trying to get by. But gradually we saw the truth of what was actually happening and changed. America was close to a civil war back then and pulled back. We'll do it again.

[KPN]

45. Congress was not close to its own civil war then. We didn't have a President or

a mainstream media source that fanned the flames of hatred and division. Yeah, there was division then, but not at the scale or ubiquity that we see today.

[Boomerproud]

7. It's a constant, permanent battle.

[cilla4progress]

9. This...

if you read your history.

Both deflating and encouraging.

With the global climate crisis in the present, it's a different calculus, now...and I predicted this insanity befalling our species as the climate crisis became apparent and unfolded, driving us into panic.

But, we must stand strong. There will be communities of nature and species that will survive and endure, I believe, creating the seed for the next iteration of good old Mother Earth. We must protect them.

Just hope to minimize pain and grief as much as possible.

[Celerity]

8. ... Meanwhile, Humans Eat Pet Food (NYT, Dec. 16, 1975)

https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/16/archives/meanwhile-humans-eat-pet-food.html



RICHMOND, Va.—The first time I witnessed people eating pet foods was among neighbors and acquaintances during my youth in the South. At that time it was not uncommon or startling to me to see clog‐food patties sizzling in a pan on the top of a stove or kerosene space heater in a dilapidated house with no running water, no refrigerator, no heat, no toilet and the unrelenting‐stench of decaying insects. I simply thought of it as the unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of being poor in the South.

The second time occurred in Cleveland in the summer of 1953. Like many other Southerners, I came to seek my fortune in one of those pot‐at‐the‐endof‐the‐rainbow factories along Euclid Avenue. Turned away from one prbspective job after another (“We don't hire hillbillies,” employers said), I saw my nest egg of $30 dwindle to nothing. As my funds diminished and my hunger grew, I turned to pilfering food and small amounts of cash. With the money, I surreptitiously purchased; fried and ate canned dog and cat food as my principal ration for several weeks.

I was, of course, humiliated to be eating something that, in my experience, only “trash” consumed. A merciless pride in self‐sufficiency kept rae from seeking out public welfare or asking my friends or family for help. In fact, I carefully guarded the secret from everyone, because I feared being judged a failure. Except for the humiliation I experienced, eating canned pet food did not at the time seem to be particularly unpleasant. The dog food tasted pretty much like mealy hamburger, while the cat food was similar to canned fish that I was able to improve with mayonnaise, mustard or catsup.

The next time I ate dog food was in 1956 while struggling through a summer session in college without income for food. Again, I was ashamed to admit it, fearing that people would feel sorry for me or that others who had even less than I would feel compelled to sacrifice for my comfort. I never again had to eat pet food. Later, while working as a hospital corpsman at the Great Lakes Illinois Naval Training Center in the late 1950's I had the opportunity to ask new recruits about their home life and nutrition practices. While I was not yet a disciplined scientist, I was able to estimate that about 5 to 8 percent of the thousands of young men who came to Great Lakes annually consumed pet foods and other materials not commonly thought to be safe or desirable for humans. Among these substances were baking soda, baking powder, laundry starch, tobacco, snuff, clay, dirt, sand and variwild plants.

snip

[70sEraVet]

44. I didn't exactly eat dog food, but.....

There was a butcher in town that used to give me bones 'for my dog'. I cooked pinto beans with the bones. Sometimes I didn't have dog food, so the dog had to eat the pinto beans.
So, its questionable whether I was eating the dog food, or my dog was eating the people food.

[c-rational]

11. K&R - Good post. Thanks for your optimism and hoping it is contagious.

This reminds me of the Little Train That Could. Good Message.

[maxsolomon]

13. The Right Wing saw their losses in the 60 and 70s

and built themselves a Think Tank and AM Radio, then Cable News, then Online media empire that pumps out hateful propaganda 24/7.

It's been working on the brains of the WHITE middle & working class, unopposed, for 30+ years. It took my Dad long ago. He went from a McGovern-voting, war-protesting liberal Catholic father to a 2-time Trump voter.

This is a different playing field.

[jalan48]

14. I agree. They learned from their mistakes in the 60's. They won't be caught off guard this time.

[appalachiablue]

37. +++

[Cosmocat]

43. Spot on

They have systemically deconstructed American democracy, slowly over many decades, but the expansive effort to weaponize a majority of our citizens against democracy itself over time has passed the breaking point.

It's now a matter of how horrible it will get.

[MineralMan]

20. Yes We Can!

Ignore the purveyors of doom and gloom, and do whatever you can to facilitate a positive result. Just don't depend on those who say there is nothing we can do, or that all is lost. They are hoping to say, "We told you so" down the road sometime.

Optimism is our hope.

[hamsterjill]

27. We "purveyors of doom and gloom" are probably more motivated than anyone!

We are the ones calling attention to the fact that something needs to be done BEFORE it’s too late; not sit around and let it all fall apart and then be told “oh, we didn’t think that would actually happen”.

I assure you. I have no interest in telling anyone “I told you so”. But I am tired of posts like yours that make those of us who are worried about the state of things look like we are not interested in fighting. We are the ones sounding the alarm, and in my opinion, you would do well to listen. Or do you not remember how bad things were under Trump?

[XanaDUer2]

54. Best to be vigilant

Hope you're well

[mahina]

21. Certainly true and we have no better option.

We can and we have got to.

One idea I was batting around is a way for elder ladies (and others too) to tell their stories of life before legal abortion and birth control.

We’d better hurry to get their stories and share them widely.

Large ways and small to help each other in communities- community gardens, free stores https://nomoola.com/…

What are your ideas to build community?
Macro, micro, being love.

Looking forward to hearing them and adopting some.


You’ve inspired me Peacetrain. I may just make this an OP.

[ancianita]

22. Ever forward!

[AZLD4Candidate]

25. The internet age has mobilized those that would destroy us much better

And there is a lot more money on that side

[Traildogbob]

31. But todays

Emeny are armed like never before. With guns AND right white wing media. This will be our toughest fight yet. Right here in our schools, grocery stores, and any public place. Aided by the supreme Court. (Purposely used lower case for Supreme) should be referred to as supremacist Court. Imagine the civil war with todays weapons and “God sending” the enemy to slaughter all non believers and all POC. Not the time to take a knee. We need to take this war to them with a massive offense. Let’s see what happens to Cawthorn here in NC today. Freshly endorsed by Satan’s spawn, who was sent by their God.

[appalachiablue]

38. Gunz & more, the scary reality but we have to try

[Traildogbob]

42. Oh hell yes

Don’t get me wrong. I am in no way saying why try. Believe me, I will bleed to protect my daughters future, and for that matter all others. My oath still stands. I was trained to confront bullets coming for me. I am furious at the attack. I will fight with all I have as veterans learned to do to save the own ass and their brothers and sisters. You are not trained to run or give up in war. In my era, not as much a patriotic rah rah MurKKKa fight, but I was sent there for billionaires, so I gotta fight better or die. I thank the gubment for that training and all the other skills I got to survive. And we are facing a survive or die situation right here.

[newdayneeded]

32. I like you positive vibes

But I wake up every morning and think about how we have the house, senate, and the Whitehouse, and these bastards still are winning. Passing policy at will, overturning Roe, suppressing voting at breakneck pace. It's probably only going to end when we create our own Gaza strip. Let them form there own right wing hell hole.

[yobrault1]

34. Canada has to be there with you ready to support

if we don't we can expect this horrid future for ourselves. It's already begun with the Freedum/KluKluxKonvoy. I am Canadian but lived in Atlanta for 5 years and never came across the Klanfederate flag and that bloody flag was on my street in our nation's capital. Unacceptable.

[Politicub]

35. I thought of this quote today. It captures how I feel.

“There was a cabaret and there was a master of ceremonies and there was a city called Berlin in a country called Germany. It was the end of the world….and I was dancing with Sally Bowles and we were both fast asleep.” The Berlin Stories, Christopher Isherwood.

I know a lot of people are paying attention and pushing for positive change, but I question if it’s enough people. I hate feeling this way.

[Baked Potato]

36. I agree, and IMO it will all depend on what people want

out of life and what they will put up with and possibly fight for.

RW forces worldwide will not let up in trying to scare people into submission. Selfish and uncaring inhabitants among the wealthy will exploit the planet while stoking division amongst the People to keep the focus off them.

There will be times that great restraint must be practiced along with times of good trouble.

The failure of Democracy is NOT inevitable.

[SpankMe]

40. I don't share your optimism and can-do tone

The difference between today and the 60's is: social media and the algorithms that amplify disinformation and inflate numbers of adherents.

Also, people with grievances actually had something to grieve about in the 60's and 70's. Whether pro-Vietnam war conservatives or anti-war liberals, most were on the lower end of the economic scale and had real problems to contend with that were feeding their anxiety. Not so today. Conservatives as a group aren't suffering. The parking lots at MAGA rallies are full of new, fully equipped F-150 pick-ups with platforms for mobility scooters. They all have homes. They all have jobs that pay reasonably well. Few are "suffering" in any real way. With nothing really to worry about in terms of life problems, they can imagine themselves as under attack and respond like wild animals.

I saw a video just this morning that up to 50% of Republicans believe all or part of "replacement theory". This is a staggering number. This fictional concept should appeal to a fringe three-percent, or something like that. But, half of a group that comprises at least 40% of the public? This is a percentage that fractures society.

Republicans and conservatives can eat my ass.

[Traildogbob]

46. Before wiping it😛💩!

Fuck em all. But, they all carry disease, maybe stay 6 feet away forever.

[58Sunliner]

62. "group that comprises at least 40% of the public"

Technically no. Identified republicans are are 25-31% of eligible voters, so half of them would be 12.5 to 15% of eligible voters. Independents are now a larger group.

[larwdem]

41. well

I hope upon hope, You are right.

[AlexSFCA]

47. 2015 was the best year - US is at its peak

the curve is going downwards now but it can go back up again. While we have extraordinary number of stupid and hateful people in this country, but we also have the world’s brightest and the younger people, particularly, Gen Z and younger give us hope. IMO, Gen Z is by far the best generation to date.

[lees1975]

48. We must VOTE in numbers never seen before.

That's it.

[Peacetrain]

53. Amen to that!!!!!!!

[sop]

49. We need to change the name of the Democratic Party to the Sisyphus Party.

Like Sisyphus, punished by the god Zeus, Democrats have also been condemned to roll our rock up to the top of the political mountain, only to have the rock roll back down to the bottom every time we reach the top. Call me pessimistic, but it seems every Progressive hard-fought gain is gradually undone by well-funded special interests, intent on returning us to the old status quo.

[dugog55]

50. The main problem and difference between now and then, is the oligarchs in our Country.

There were only two or three Billionaires in the 60's. In 1985 there were only 14 with a net worth of $18B. And now thanks to Reagan's "Trickle Down Economics" there are over 700 Billionaires with little to no restrictions on how they can use that money politically. The Supreme Court is Conservative and partisan, they gave W. Bush an undeserved presidency, and have ruled on laws allowing Corporations to be classed as people. That does not even make sense.

If we are to survive this dark period, it will take a miracle. With so much money being thrown into the ring backing the GOP, which has shown over the years that it cannot govern at all, but merely spew rhetoric, lie, and demonize Democrats. They have no policies to stand on, but they do have a propaganda machine (Fox News- hate radio) brainwashing rubes and people that should know better into voting for them.

It is going to be a steep uphill battle.

[Warpy]

51. I'm old enough to remember that shit

during the Vietnam War, some of which still gives me occasional nightmares.

I'm old now, so the people who need to wake the fuck up and reject Putin's Party are the Gen X and Gen Y people in middle and late middle age and I have to say I am not terribly optimistic about them.

They will do to the Millennials and Gen Z what the Silents did to us, make sure no one on the left got any funding or any voice at all

We didn't realize what was coming. I hope the Millennials and Gen Z do and compensate for it. It can be done. All those states in the Moron Corridor from Texas north to the Dakotas were once a lot more liberal. They can be so again.

[emulatorloo]

52. Kick and rec

[McKim]

55. WE MUST DO THIS!

WE MUST DO THIS or we will forever be know as the generation that shirked its duty. I wa active about the War on Vietnam and the War on Iraq. At 76 I am ready to struggle again and looking for radical leadership. I have the energy and means to do something and at my age have little to lose. Let's show them how its done, boomers!

[Ferrets are Cool]

56. I do hope you are correct. I lived through those years and I do not remember the US being

as divided as it is now. Yes, the old folk bitched about the hippies. The government was corrupt in certain pockets. There was open racism.
It just seems different now. We were not on the precipice of fascism then. We are now. Nazi's didn't openly march in the same way they do now. Politicians didn't openly talk of "taking out" those who disagreed with them. And while there was a gun culture in the US, it wasn't weapons of mass destruction that were opening carried in the streets of America.

I hope you are correct.

[bluboid]

58. Thank you, Peacetrain...

I'm another member of the 60's generation who thinks along the same lines - in fact, if we look at American history in general, the American experiment keeps moving forward thru fits & starts - but continues moving forward no matter what gets thrown in its way. we can do this & are doing it - even thru setbacks & stalls...

[Martin68]

59. Thanks for reminding us. It helps to have a longer perspective when the future looks dark.

[Stuart G]

60. Yes, we can. Great Post..& U.S.A. has been through much worse.."We can pull the country back from..

the edge" .............................YES, WE CAN!!!..........................................................................

[Mr.Bill]

61. When I think back to those days,

I think of how although many previous generations had won wars, we stopped one.

It wasn't easy and it took a long time, but we stopped a war without winning it.

[bucolic_frolic]

64. Democracy always faces adversaries

We coasted off our WWII victory with technology and a political peace and stalemate. Now powerful forces are testing us again. Democracy is where power derives from the people, and not from the top down. Dictators and authoritarians don't want it that way.

So what I'm saying is the struggle is more than a domestic political tug of war. There are economic inequities, and imported terrorist ideologies to fight and defeat.

[Murphyb849]

65. Yes we can

[Murphyb849]

66. Yes we can

[calimary]

67. Well, we're gonna HAVE TO!!!

[Wednesdays]

69. We CAN do this.

GOTV! GOTV! Get. Out. The. Vote.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216702513

[AmBlue]

75. Thank you!! So true...

Thank you for this important reminder. Besides all you've detailed, some of my earliest memories are of my President John Kennedy being assassinated, then Martin Luther King, then Robert Kennedy. It was a terrible, terrible time. I wasn't old enough to protest, but now am so grateful for all those who did. THANK YOU!!

I believe each and every one of us is powerful beyond our understanding. We each need only to push forward as much and as hard as we can. Each of us can make a huge difference, or a small difference... with every bit of it adding up to saving our country, and our very way of life.

From the dear, departed Naomi Judd's beautiful song, "Love Can Build A Bridge":

"When we pull together
It's our finest hour
We can do anything, anything
Keep believing in the power"

[OldBaldy1701E]

76. Interestingly enough, my cynicism about the future is not destruction.

As stated, we can and have pulled back from worse. My worry and my cynicism is from the fact that we seem to be dead set on 'returning to what was'. THAT, in my humble opinion, will be the biggest mistake that we have ever made. But, there is so much embedded in the culture that we are in and that got us here that needs to go away forever. I know some of them will not, because greed and ego are just part of humans and that would require changes that would make us robots. So, what do we do? Ignore the rampant ego fueled greed in this country? Because every time someone says the want to 'go back', I despair even more. Have we learned nothing? Because all of the cries for a return to once was seems to indicate that we have not.

[redgreenandblue]

77. Here's a millennial thinking 15% interest on a house might be better than the 0% we have now.

I think I'd rather buy a house at 15 percent than zero.

Cheap credit has turned housing from a commodity into a ponzi scheme.

15% seems almost unreal.

Boomers had an unprecedented opportunity to build wealth.

[station agent]

78. We went over the edge in 2000