There are a lot of otherwise rational Republicans out there making bad decisions. No matter what happens, they seem to find some way to justify it; they find ways to say torture is OK, being lied into war is OK, violating the constitution is OK. For a while, I wondered what it would take to get them to realize where that was leading us - just how far "their" party would have to go to get them to actually stand up.
Now I realize that, without our help, that will never happen.
The problem is the slippery slope, the foot in the door, the rabbit hole - whatever metaphor suits you fancy. The problem is the logical disconnect, the cognitive dissonance forcing them to stay the course, no matter how misguided it is. The problem is their clear distance from reality.
We can help them, though.
What we need is a National Day of Reflection.
More on the flip.
That's what we need: a
National Day of Reflection. This isn't Earth day or Veterans' Day or Yom Kippur; nor is it protest to try to force people to agree with us on any particular issue du jour.
It's more like fine forgiveness at a library; no hard feelings, we just want you to fix it.
It's giving everyone - everyone - a chance to step back, a chance to look at themselves and the world and ask themselves: is this really what I'm saying? Is this really what I believe?
Give everyone a chance to reflect on themselves, their histories, and their futures. Give them a chance to change, not so we can say "I told you so," but so we can effect real change.
If we can do that (and perhaps find a magical antidote for insecurity and fear), we'll be well on our way to making real progress.