I think that one problem that progressives are facing politically is that we are yelling at the top of our lungs about everything that we don't agree with.
This has created a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" effect, and actually had a negative impact on our ability to influence outcomes.
There is much to be disatisfied with in our current political landscape.
There are unprosecuted war crimes, there is discrimination against the LGBT community in the military and elsewhere, there is a tremendous imbalance between the haves and have nots, the widespread corruption in the government, and the list goes on and on.
And we progressives rightly are upset about these injustices, and work to address them in the only way that we know how. By voting. By speaking out. By applying pressure wherever we can.
But in our current 24/7 news culture, there simply is not the depth or honesty of coverage to give any of these topics the spotlight and focus that they deserve. And so what happens is that our voice is fractured and our message is diluted.
Add in the various factions of our party fighting amongst ourselves, and we are basically drowning each other out, and all the American people hear is the sound of shouting, not the actual message.
What is needed is priorities and balance.
We simply cannot delare Armageddon is upon us each and everytime things don't go our way, because things are not going to go our way a lot. When every setback is treated like the apocalypse, then folks start just ignoring the "crazy liberals" who are always upset about something.
Sometimes it takes more strength to show restraint than to lash out, and I say this as someone who struggles with restraint.
If we truly want to effect the changes we say we do, we need to come together, find areas of agreement, and make short term and long term plans to get there.
We need to stop questioning each others motives, anatomy, and intentions every time we disagree about how to move forward.
We need to stop framing every issue as black and white, win or lose, and come up with more realistic ways to measure outcomes.
Or risk completely losing our ability to effect outcomes by overusing our outrage.