Kossacks, as the Democrats return to their rightful place at the helm of the House and the Senate, we must now move past our celebrations and move on to the task at hand. We, the Democrats, have hard work to do. One of the most critical parts of our agenda is that we must end the ever-worsening civil war that we inherited.
Yes, civil war. Some people, and even entire news networks, may try to deny it, but we Kossacks know better. The attacks have been getting worse day after day, disrupting people from living their normal lives. It's also disrupting us Democrats from pursuing our domestic agenda. And yes, we inherited it. We are the leaders, now, and the people expect us to come forward with real-world solutions to fix their problems. Our first priority must be to end this civil war.
How do we fix it? I have a crazy idea that just might work.
Stop writing about the civil war.
Yes, stop writing about the civil war. You know that it only makes things worse. It makes both sides believe that this extended fight is justified, even as it impacts many innocent bystanders who would have no part of it. These innocent bystanders just want to go on and recover from the tatters of this terrible war.
I have seen first-hand the impact of us writing diary after diary about this subject. Unfortunately, the impact is terrible. Every once in a while, a diary will directly lead to another launched attack. Here's how it happens:
- Just when you thought things were peaceful again, one of the insurgents reads one of our civil war diaries on Daily Kos.
- Said insurgent is emboldened by the diary, because the diary ultimately takes one side or the other. This makes the insurgent feel that they either have popular support or they feel like they're being victimized.
- Aforementioned insurgent then launches an attack of their own, attracting both more insurgents as well as new enemies, worsening the battle.
- One of us at Daily Kos sees the heightened conflict and feels compelled to report on it (while adding our own opinion). A whole bunch of people who agree with the diarist's controversial view recommends it up. The cycle begins anew.
Kossacks, please, we must end the cycle. There is no way that both sides of this civil war can coexist in peace until we stop writing about the civil war. If we just stop writing, and maybe focus on other important things, then these things will happen:
- Both sides will realize that none of us are their allies - they only have each other.
- Both sides will realize that their differences are few and their similiarities are many. They will be forced to work together on other things while respecting each other's differences.
- The civil war will end and then rebuilding can begin. The region will flourish and return to its former greatness.
Yes, Kossacks, now is the time to cease all writing about the civil war. Then, and only then, will the Southern Democrat vs. Northern Democrat civil war end. All this debate about "Southern white males" and how to win them over is nice, but it ultimately ends up with Democrats taking sides against other Democrats in a highly divisive way. And, frankly, it doesn't make either side look very good.
Kossacks, we must take a stand. Make it clear: we will not tolerate a second Civil War in the United States. One North vs. South Civil War was enough, thank you. We do not believe that Democrat on Democrat hatred is suited for any corner of this blog. It certainly isn't appropriate for the recommended diaries, as this area gets a lot of attention from outsiders to this blog. And we do not think that this is a productive use of our post-election time. We have work to do in Congress, damn it.
Yes, Daily Kos, we must all take steps to stop this civil war...this, Democrat on Democrat violence. The first step is to simply stop writing about it and get back to work. Let both sides throw one last Thanksgiving pie at each other and be done with it. Only then can we move on to the other important issues facing Democrats in this day and age.
Like, say, the civil war in Iraq? What the heck are we planning to do about that anyway? I look forward to seeing a recommended diary on this issue.