Last night I was surrounded by a room full of people I agree with who, by hour two of conversation, had created a Hadron Collider intensity of circular spin of the same sentiments expressing themselves in billions of variations until slamming into one another and creating sudden destruction and distance; most notably between the ideas most closely aligned. So basically, it was the political scene of any singularly left or right debate these days.
I walked away with no solid information and somehow even less conviction, merely a swirl of questions about who I am as a person and who are we to become together?
When you’re fighting your everyday neighborhood dragon or ogre, a solid strategy is to kick the monster as it hits rock bottom and a skilled fighter desires to strategically deliver the final blows to render it to surrender, striking only when 100% certain it’s really at the rocky bottomless rock bottom. Has the Republican Party “thud” of lifeless resignation been heard? Do you believe their will to deny fact for the truth they want has been bent? Do they have almost nothing left to fight with? Money, energy, ego?
If you’re sure, do it. Push for the big, pie in the sky things so they have room to crawl halfway and still be further than they ever imagined in your direction of what the future looks like. Free college? Cram it into every bill that moves and make each objector vote “No” so many times they are driven to madness until finally a breaking news story shows them shouting, wild-eyed about how, why yes, they believe in inequality and unfair opportunities and could give a damn about poor kids so we are all required to take to the streets until justice is served. Shoot the f’ing moon and put issues to bed like climate change, income inequality, healthcare once and for all so we can finally be bored that our complete annihilation of civilization is *at least* 200 years away and doesn’t seem so pressing. I dirty double dog dare you to do it. But be damn sure the monster is weak, at the weakest.
If it isn’t, 2020 will be another electoral college win and democrats haven’t been doing so well in that backwoods turtle race of a contest. If the “id” in many people still has jagged jaws sunk into the executive function of the frontal lobe, if their insecure righteousness is assaulted but not defeated with the head buried at midnight under the North Star, if their thirst for revenge after being called names and their signs grammar-checked has been proven to be impossible to quench with apologies and kumbaya air kisses... they still might fight for the bully again, not because they believe they’re right but because they need to prove to YOU they’re relevant.
How do democrats win? Do you believe that you concentrate on choosing a candidate that can win the general election because the consequences are too grave to push on boundaries that have never broken? Or do you use the primary to energize your base and believe that the party will be reshaped into what it should be and that there is no middle anymore - only losers and winners so we may as well play by the same rules. Do you want to persuade or do you want to be right? Do you motivate by morality or shame? Shall we request submission or devotion?
This isn’t my agenda or manifesto, not even a passive “hey, if you wouldn’t mind could you maybe um... agree with me”. I want whatever you believe to be true and simultaneously I wish for this all to be a fever dream I’m having on some subconscious dimension that plays a version of reality where only absurdity and obscenity are constants.
Whatever we do, however we can do it, and whoever is on this ship of humanity with us... I’m rooting for you. I’m demanding the very best for the least. I will help you climb whatever cliff you need to scale but if we don’t sit eye-to-eye and talk about what we need, what is best, and how to summit together - then you’re just another monster whose weakness I haven’t found yet.