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In reply to the discussion: I am not posting this for the purpose of getting either sympathy or suggestions. I just think [View all]meadowlander
(4,388 posts)She spent twenty years building up the infrastructure and social capital to do it, but she did it.
Like the old saying goes, "If you think things are bad now, trying giving up and see just how badly they can actually suck."
Every tiny action you do, everything you say ripples out and affects the people around you. Every time you treat someone with respect who has been disrespected or get someone to stop and think about what they actually just said or set a good example in front of a kid.
You might not see the results for 20 years, but they are out there accumulating.
If nothing else, you can be the change. And in the long run that actually does matter even if it doesn't make gripping television viewing. We just live in an age where the media amplifies the voices of the stupidest and cruelest. But we have made real progress on things like LGBTQ rights and climate change awareness and support for universal health care and gun control and diverse representation in the media and government. While the news stays focused on the most extreme whack-jobs on the right, the bulk of the country has been moving slowly but steadily to the left on a number of issues.