I remember the Bush administration. I remember that feeling like this country was being driven towards a cliff and no matter what we did, the people in power were hell bent on continuing blindly towards doom. "Stay the course" became more than a motto for a war, but for our entire national destiny.
The election of Obama and majorities in both houses of congress gave us all a great sense of relief. Finally a grown up was driving the country and we would finally be able to change our trajectory and maybe reverse course towards sanity and prosperity.
The last couple weeks have demonstrated that, regardless of the motivations or intentions, we are still heading for that cliff and there's no sign of turning. Our only consolation is that we haven't hit it yet, but there's still a long fall ahead.
What do we do?
I was sitting here thinking about 2012 and whether I could vote for Obama if he keeps going down this road and enabling republicans' disasterous navigation. Somewhere in my head rang the strident cries of "If it's not Obama it'll be a republican and it will be MUCH WORSE".
But will it?
Make no mistake, our nation is headed towards a fall and our representatives in government seem hellbent on that course. Lately our options seem to be limited to "sooner" or "later" and I for one would rather it happen on the republican's watch. It's a giant game of hot potato and we don't want it when the music stops. I hear people yelling "work harder!" and "Don't give up!" and "It'll be your fault!". But it is starting to ring hollow. How much more do we have to work before our input is greater than that of corporations and massive special interests? How much louder do we have to be before they will hear our voices over the roar of their corporate overlords?
Is it already too late to stop? If so, the question becomes, is it better to fight to the last or brace for impact?
I don't have the answers. And I'm not even really supporting or endorsing any particular plan of action (or inaction). I'm just asking questions. Because it seems to me that people are running around saying we need to fight harder and yell louder and make our voices heard, but there's not much discussion about whether that will actually save us or even whether we can be saved.