You have the right to remain silent and soon that will be the only right you have left.
Unless you yell like crazy about the ones you are losing right now!
If you are reading this YOU ARE MY ALLY, NOT MY ENEMY. In the same way, you are the enemy of my enemy, and we should fight together.
But why does it seem like the only thing that really pisses off a moderate is when you call them a moderate? Then they ask you to moderate your outrage, as they prefer everything in moderation, including their own moderate temperament, apparently.
President Obama, whom I still support, damn near demanded that we change in order for there to be change. Some of us are not happy with what has been labeled "change" so far, and we are not afraid to say so.
If you think we should moderate our outrage, may I ask what you are doing to help the situation first?
I am one of those liberals you may have heard about. The obstinate asshole type who has ideals that I will not negotiate. These ideas include empathy for the poor and disenfranchised, civil/equal/human rights, an equitable world for all and the rule of law. Yeah, I am a complete whackjob about it. What I don't understand is why you aren't as pissed off as the rest of us?
If you can't understand my anger you are not paying close enough attention to the world around you. This is 1968. This is 1932. Just because you don't see it outside your door doesn't mean it isn't really there.
Whether it is your Constitutional rights, your right to an undestroyed environment, a good paying job, an education, health care, a retirement, peace and love.
Not to mention your basic human rights.
Do I sound like I am asking for alot? Of course! But guess what, you ain't ever gonna get what you want if you do not ask for it.
And if they ain't listening, I gotta YELL LOUDER!
You will lose all of these things, slowly and then quickly, unless you get really pissed off and really loud RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!
In Iran they are Yelling their Friggin Heads off! Ask an American to get off the couch and he will threaten to secede or call you a "whiner"
This is my memo to the RW Wingnuts, the "sensible" moderates and the cool aid drinking "Can do no wrong" crowd. Get up, get off your couch, start writing, calling, become an ACTIVIST, and start DOING SOMETHING!
If all you can do is voice your "concern" and rain on someone else's parade I suggest you use that right and remain silent, as your voice is not helping us progress towards change.
Yes, it is appropriate to compare the oppression in Iran and elsewhere with the oppression going on in the USA today. The severity is beyond comparison but the act of oppression is not. To deny this is foolishness.
A minority of wealthy, male, powerful religious extremists want to dictate how the majority of people live and die. Whether it is abortion, voting rights, equal rights or human rights. A few powerful people want to force everybody else to agree with them and do what they say.
This is just as true in Iran as it is in North Korea or America. There is a class war. There are two Americas. There are also two Irans, and Two North Koreas, but the same reality exists everywhere, and the same class war is being fought across the world.
When you shit on someone for yelling about it you are aiding the enemy. The enemy is the status quo, the enforcer of oppression and poverty, whether they wear sandals or business shoes or whether they trod on you with bare feet, it is the Iron Hell that stamps on your freedom, and when you call our outrage "whining" you just help to kick the weak while they are down.
It seems to me like moderates who fear Loud Voices have no fear in disregarding their shyness when it comes to yelling at teh Left Wing extremists (feh) who are less than moderately pissed about war, equality, rights and the rule of law.
To these people I have this advice. LEAD FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Your "concerns" have been duly noted.
May I ask that those who are offended by my words please STFU. Instead of yelling at me for asking that we fight the other guys in the class war instead of each other, you could engage the left who wants your support, instead of attacking those who want more progress faster for "whining" when others are unwilling to ask for as much.
And if you think criticism hurts our President and makes a GOP victory more likely, maybe you should have more faith in the man. He is a grown man, he can certainly take constructive criticism like an adult.
Can you?
So, here is my constructive criticism.
Step 1. Don't be a dick.
If someone is yelling, or yelling louder than you, and you do not have something good or helpful to say, don't say anything.
Step 2. Help, not hurt.
If you want to offer constructive criticism go ahead. If you re-read something you are writing and you sound like a dick to yourself, don't press send.
Step 3. Get mad about the right thing.
Don't get mad at the guy on your side who wants to charge the next hill. Get mad at the guy on the other side who wants to see your fail.
Step 4. Lead, follow or get out of the way and STFU
Not a lot of moderate leaders around here, or anywhere historically. There are a shitload of moderate followers though. They tend to be the ones who will yell at you for not following harder. Good luck with that.
Step 5. If you can't lead and can only follow, get out of the way when someone else takes charge.
By this I mean that you should help first, if it is in your interest to do so. If you disagree with the type of help being pushed forward, suggest a better way without attacking the person who is running to the front of the battle.
This is class war after all. There can be no conscientious objectors. If the heat is too much, get out of the kitchen, and if you must go, please go quietly, but don't shut the door behind you, inside is the real path to progress.
We need more than a revolution, we need an evolution in the way we think. These are dire times. Moderation is no longer useful.
Become the evolution.
Crossposted at docudharma.com