I fully expect this diary to go into that great recycle bin in that large realm of computer heaven known as bitland before biting into my lunch. I also expect I'll be troll rated from some of you out there for saying this, but sometimes things just need to be said.
Howard Dean will NOT save this country. Neither will John Kerry.
Guess what else? Your own individual efforts alone will also not save this country. As much as we all try to think globally and act locally, these largely disconnected and individual acts of defending liberalism will not create drastic change.
We must rally around common causes and shared beliefs in order to make the mainstream media and the American public in general realize that not only are there liberals still left in this country who don't work in Hollywood and aren't on the staff of the New York Times, but we are a newly invigorated force to be reckoned with.
This means effective organizing. This means large scale protest against discrimination and disenfranchisement. This means finding common cause with ALL people who share the beliefs of self determination and society's moral imperative to care for the poor, the sick, the aged and our children.
Right now we have an opportunity to do exactly that. CBS's and NBC's censorship of the United Church of Christ ad is in day two of its news cycle. This means that there will be a few op-eds and a couple more think-pieces during the weekend. By Monday the story will have played out and everyone can return to business as usual. Unless we, the liberal force in this country, don't let it die.
We have a great opportunity before us to raise all of the issues we've been blogging about since before the election: the co-opting of religious "values" by the Religious Right; Bush's use of gays as a wedge issue to divide the American electorate and the undue pressure the mainstream media feels right now to kowtow to the President and the people who support his views.
Or, we could just continue to blog about John Kerry not doing enough to count votes in Ohio or how Howard Dean, The Great Hope of the Progressive Movement, might find some voice somewhere in the Democratic Party.
As a group, we can make an impact if we choose to do so. The choice is ours.