Disclaimer: This post isn't directed towards any specific person. Trust me, I've been hearing this from just about everybody.
A year ago liberal activists were in high spirits. We had just taken back the US Congress from 12 years of Republicon rule and were looking forward to a new period of peace, prosperity, and opposition to the Bush administration. In Michigan, we helped reelected Governor Granholm, took back the State House, and made gains in the State Senate. The Republicons were hurting so bad that Michigan Liberal taunted Saul Anuzis with an endorsement for reelection to chair of the MIGOP. We were filled with hope, and life was good.
But since then we've seen a whole lot of things happen that have dampened our spirits. Not just on the blogosphere, but throughout the entire liberal activist community.
We found out that even with the so-called lobbying reform being done in DC, the politicians were still selling legislative votes to the highest bidder. Iraq is still waging with no end in sight. Bin Laden is still laughing at us from a cave somewhere. The economy still sucks and is bound to get worse. Bush has gotten just about everything he's wanted from the new Congress, and there's no real oversight being done to stop him. Our elected Democrats are actually fighting against Bush impeachment.
We also have the primary season, in which our fellow rank-and-file Democrats are using right-wing talking points to bash the Democratic candidates who they don't want for the nomination for the Presidency. And God forbid you pick the guy they're not backing.
And we have people we once called friends turning on us for no good reason.
Some of us have even had our lives threatened.
On top of all that, we have personal issues that get in the way of our desire to fight.
All of this has led to a massive burnout on the part of liberal activists. What was once a coalition of bright-eyed true believers has now become a group of cynics who wonder why they're even bothering to fight. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't in this group of new cynics.
I don't know what advice to give you to bring back the desire to fight. If I did, I'd be doing it. But I will tell you this: You're needed.
The cavalry isn't coming. You are the cavalry. You are the last best hope America has from turning into a conservative shithole ruled by corporate greed and legalized slavery. Without you, any hopes of undoing the clusterfuck brought about by GWB will not only be lost, but we'll see the end of the New Deal, a privatized government that answers to nobody, sickness caused by pollutants in our air and water, and sales taxes up that drive everyone to the poorhouse. The rich will continue to get richer. You, however, will continue to be broke.
We have a long fight ahead of us, and it's not going to be easy. If it were easy everyone would be doing it. Apathy is easy, and it's why so many people have it.
We're going to be fighting for years. not just against Repugs, but against DINOs as well. We'll have to work tirelessly to get them kicked out of office. We have to be bugging our elected officials to do the right thing until they finally cave to us (for a change).
If it helps, think of all the things that had to happen for you to be apart of the freedom that America has today. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't the first black civil rights leader. Before him years passed of civil rights activists fighting and dying to make sure that their fellow black citizens would be treated the same as white citizens. Alice Paul had to be force-fed after starting a hunger strike in prison before women would be allowed to vote. Abbey Hoffman was targeted by the FBI for protesting the Vietnam War. Gay people rioted in New York before people would even treat them as human beings. There are countless others, and almost all of them were labelled by the right as communists. But they all fought when it seemed that all of America was against them, and our country is better for it. Democracy is stronger for it.
So keep fighting. We need you. America needs you.
Crossposted at every blog that has me as a member