What can be done?

[Magoo48]

We are a violent people with a violent past. Our modern society is built upon the murderous brutality of slave labor and the genocide of millions of indigenous people.

We oppress our poor, often with violence, and have been involved in wars and ”police actions” regularly since becoming a nation. Indifference, ignorance, and misunderstood—misplaced patriotism allows violence racketeers to charge forward and warmonger their way to riches.

There is a rotten core element in our national psyche which will have to be delt with eventually, and nobody knows exactly how to approach it.

[Irish_Dem]

1. First step must be Americans facing reality.

Unless that happens nothing can be done.

We have to look deep in our souls and face what this country has become.

And ask ourselves if we have the courage, will, determination to fight and fight hard to save our children, and our country.

The GOP is trying to break our spirit, crush our souls by murdering our children, subjugating women and other groups. They want total permanent power and wealth and are waging a brutal war against Americans to achieve their goals.

Once we face this and answer questions we can begin making plans.

[MuseRider]

3. In this country

facing reality is harder than learning compassion for those different than they are.

I have no hope for this country. I do not see any way to sway those who are willing to swallow any crappy thing that someone like Tucker says.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Denial is a hard thing to over come.

But people need to start speaking out and speaking the hard truths no one wants to hear.

There are portions of this country totally unreachable and beyond hope.
They are filled with hatred so deep we cannot change it easily.

I think another group is beginning to connect dots and understand what is happening to this country and why.

I despair as well but then I think of the Zelensky doctrine:

Against all odds, fight hard and win.

[MuseRider]

6. The Zelensky doctrine,

I like that.

I have been in some really heated battles with people in my state when we were working for rights for the LGBTQ+ community here in Kansas. For the most part it was just years of being slapped around (figuratively), laughed at and treated like shit. I am a straight woman who knew how it felt as a woman to be treated that way but because women can be used by these mostly Republican men it was different. They did not want us dead, they wanted to use us. The LGBTQ community did not have that, they wanted them gone no matter what. We won, we won, we won. It was the hardest I have ever worked and it went on for years but we won. The people could get pretty nasty but it was not like it is now. I see the difference now, they just simply do NOT care what happens to anyone who is different or useable. We are WAY beyond what we were then. We won then and they are taking it all apart now, little by little and there is not one kind word by any of them, they are just ripping through the communities and rolling over them.

We will all continue to fight hard but it scares me so badly knowing how awful it was, how it felt to hear people say what they said about my dear friends and my brother. It is so far beyond that it makes me wonder if we can ever get out of this. Still we move ahead.

This was perfect because Zelensky has shown us real courage. What a guy to have to look to when you are down. Thank you, that really does help.

[Irish_Dem]

7. I invented the slogan "Zelensky Doctrine" because he is a 21st century icon

and the best world leader since Churchill. And it is 100% accurate.

He is an inspiration to all of us who are being terrorized by Putin/GOP.

If the Ukrainian people can fight, then Americans can as well.

But they have to want to.

I am an ally, my daughter and her girlfriend are planning to get married next year. But if their marriage becomes illegal they are thinking of moving to Canada. They both are well educated and have high in demand careers so they might swing it.

But I want to fight first before it gets to that point.

Yes I agree there has been a big change in the hatred, the vitriol, the GOP tactics. They wish to crush the soul of American and make us roll over to their demands for permanent power and white Jesus rule.

We have to face that reality and fight.

[MuseRider]

8. I like your slogan.

He is worth looking up to, what a story he has now and he is living up to it every day. I totally agree that he is an incredible leader.

Congratulations to your family. I hope more than you know the they are able to get married here and stay here. My brother died of AIDS 20 years ago this December and my jumping into the fray was because of that. I really do not want to do this again at this point in my life but it looks like they are giving us a lot to fight about. Time to pull up my Big Girl pants again.

Good luck to you and your daughter and her partner and thank you for a post that kind of woke me back up. I have been trying to pull back a bit but it just cannot be done. You deal with what you are dealt or you die.

Zelensky Doctrine. Very nice.

[Irish_Dem]

9. Feel free to use it!

It just came to me.

Yes he is a true inspiration, along with the Ukrainian population.

So sorry to hear about your brother. I remember those days and it was so awful a time.

I know, it is hard to imagine we are back at this point. I want to enjoy my retirement, but with Covid, the quarantine, the GOP war against us, it is not meant to be. Like you say, time to get back in the saddle once again.

I think the recent and constant murder of our children in school is also a consideration for my daughter and partner. They want to raise a family together. So on top of their marriage perhaps made illegal, they will have to worry about their children.

I have not been saying too much about the negative side of things to them. They have been looking at rings, dresses, and planning their wedding so I want them to enjoy all of it. My daughter's partner is an attorney so she is very aware of where this may all go.

I think the most important thing we can do right now is help people face realty, share our experience of what things were like in the past. Help people understand what the GOP is doing to us.

And yes advocate for the groups being hit so hard. It breaks my heart to see it. And the recent attack on women and where the abortion laws are going to take us is just unbelievable to me and heart breaking. We know full well how this will play out.

[MuseRider]

10. Everything you just said.

My brother almost pulled out of it then he crashed. By the time that happened I wanted him to go, there was nothing left to save. He had so much to live for and so much more to give. I am forever blessed that he came home to me to care for him. He was gone so quickly but I had some OK time with him.

As far as your daughter, wow what a time they are having. It really is all we can do. They should get to be happy and do all those things without the threat that lays in wait. I hope they get everything they want and are able to get to a safe place if they need to.

I have found that so far nobody really wants to hear our stories. I keep getting eye rolls and things like, "Yes Granny." I am not certain that many of the younger generation, whatever they are called, are interested in any of this. My sons are of the age where most are angry with the Boomers. Mine have heard my stories and grew up their last years at home with me out there phone banking and teaching how to do it and traveling the state. They "yes boomered" me 1 time too many and they now know the answers to the things that are being thrown at us and why the boomers were who we were. If we can be successful with enough of them to get them to let us help them we might be able to move some things. Right now they really do not seem to want anything at all from us.

Yes, yippie! We get to do it all over again. I do not think I will live to see women back where we are now. It is going to take a very long time again to recreate all we did before. I am not certain many know what all that entails. They can certainly do it, they are smart but it would be so much faster and easier to use our basic framework to get started.

I think I am babbling! No sleep last night after all the news. A nap and I can make some sense. It just feels good right now to talk about all of this in a safe place.

Thanks for the conversation. This can be such a nice place.

Thanks!

[Irish_Dem]

12. Yes

Yes to everything you are saying. You are not babbling, far from it.

I am so glad your brother had you with him at the end. It is so sad to think of so much wasted life and potential. Our society did not want to deal with it and so pushed it all away in hidden secretive fashion.

I think of my daughter and her fiancée, both beautiful, talented, successful with so much promise and a great future ahead of them. And the MAGAs want to take it all away from them and make them social outcastes like the old days. So yes there is a cloud hanging over their wedding. Yes I am going try to find a way for them to be safe if it comes to that.

I have learned that even when people appear not to be listening, but you have an important story to tell, it sinks in somewhere in their brains. Yes I get the hey boomer stuff too. But every now and then I hear my daughter talking to someone else repeating a lesson from me I thought she had ignored. So you never know.

And if things get worse in our society our stories may help them then.

Right, the universe is not done with us. We are back to handling the same old crap. Yes young people have no idea what it was like when we were young and what we went though for all the gains they now enjoy. They have no idea.

Yes they are smart and maybe they can borrow something from us and build a new and better framework.

Thank you for the discussion. It was great.

[Initech]

2. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

The common enemy in all of this? It's the far right Fox / AM hate radio / Facebook / megachurch propaganda sphere. It started with Rush Limbaugh and it's currently dominated by Infowars and Facebook. They have an iron grip on like half the country and they control the electorate in the red half of the country. They have zero accountability and no messaging for the other side (us). If we want to make a serious change in this country, we have to start fighting back against this machine. They are responsible for nearly everything bad that's happened in this country in the last 20+ years.

[brush]

5. A frank and to the point post. It's difficult for a single...

person to face the reality of their own failing, mush less a whole, divided nation.

Are we suffering a slow, continuing karma with each mass killing, with each vote suppressing law rammed through by republicans, with SCOTUS itself taking rights from women?

Maybe unawares, we're paying for our past cruelties with all of the above.

[brooklynite]

11. Meaningless linkage...

Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Japan...all had violent and oppressive histories. None of them have the gun violence that we do.