Marching and protesting in DC, in Kennebunkport is all good [check that diary and recommend, it's a great video]. Great stuff.
That protest in Kennebunkport [that I was not even aware of, because nothing gets reported by the traditional media] is a great example of peaceful meaningful protest.
But no amount of letter writing, calls to talk radio shows, talking bobble headed goof balls slowly and nearly imperceptibly changing their minds is going to accomplish ANYTHING. And protests like those in Kennebunkport, in Crawford TX, as good as they make us feel just are not getting the job done.
Markos said it before, that the "era of street protest is over".
He's absolutely right, it is.
At least the way we knew it to be.
It's clear to me now that my question outlined in yesterdays diary I posted is that we are being gladhanded. I looked at all the responses in the diary, and I have to come to a conclusion. We are being used. Hillary said it loud and clear at YK. She almost shouted it out, that yes, she appreciates the chance to make herself look progressive.
Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Jim Webb, Amy Klobuchar, Zack Space, Tim Walz and others used us. They continue to use us. Most of us tripped all over ourselves, as we respected their 'status' as 'leaders'.
They mouthed the right platitudes. They payed lip service to progressive values. They borrowed from the Big Dog, and spouted out their own version of "I feel your pain" as they bit their illusory lower lip.
It was good, a really good show. They knew just what color sack cloth to put on to appeal to the ascetics here at dialykos, DU, HuffPo and ask us to dole out our money and donate our time. Most of us went 'oooh and aaah', as they send the tiny little scraps of soundbites our way. We really do need so little to keep us going, it seems.
But when it comes time to pay the piper, to do deal with the reality and do the real 'hard work' that is needed to serve our nation as it is being bled, they just bend over. "Yes sir, they say." Like Oliver Twist, they whine out, as bow and scrape to the Presidential Codpiece .. "Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?"
Our country is being destroyed, and the future blowback from our 'foreign policy decisions' will endanger your children and their children's lives.
The projected overall Two Trillion dollar cost of the Iraq war is a Nation Breaker.
Yet, it appears that Harry Reid is content to simply continue to kick the can down the road.
At least 800,000 dead Iraqis, kick the can. [Some estimates are over 2 million. Two million dead Iraqis. God knows how many horribly mangled.] Nearly 4,000 dead Americans, kick the can. Tens of thousands of mangled minds and bodies returning, many being ignored. Kick the can. Manufacturing millions of angry people, who we are helping to build a lasting historical enmity against our Nation, and our children. Kick the can. A total overall documented cost of at least $500B, but a real cost of $2T, maybe even $3T. Kick the can down the road.
So I have finally concluded that yes, Markos you are right. The era of street protest as we knew it is over. It clearly doesn't do a damn thing. It's ignored by the traditional media, and we end up congratulating ourselves for 'theatre'. We feel good, it's a great way to blow off steam. But can we show any lasting political impact?
While the 'liberal blogosphere' is a wonderful place, I like it and find it is informative, fun and I feel good being here. But it's quite apparent that what we do here is more of an art form, than a political tool. We have helped to elect people who turn their backs on us at the first challenge. We end up congratulating ourselves for 'theatre'. Well played. We feel good, it's a great way to blow off steam. But can we show any lasting political impact?
In my diary yesterday I tried to be upbeat, to ask for what is needed to help us be more effective. I felt that while we are being confined to our 'designated protest zone' here on the Internet, we could have some good impact. And yes .. once in a while, we do. Things are 'looking up'. 'Patience', I'm advised.
However, the real bottom line here, is that we are out of time.
I feel as if the future of our nation is like that of the final moments of Egypt Air Flight 990. Our nation, from 40,000 feet is in a steep dive, engines at full throttle, headed straight down.
Pilot George W Bush: 'I made my decision now. I put my faith in God's hands'.
The 'era of street protest is over'. The irrelevance of it is quite clear.
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Perhaps, the only thing left to do now is to throw the thongs into the gears of the machinery. To pull the stick back on the plane that is headed in a suicide dive. To wake up the rest of the country and make them understand the gravity of our situation .. perhaps by non-violent street protest, but not marching on DC, or Kennebunkport, or making tent cities in Crawford TX. Perhaps it's chaining ourselves en masse to the banks, the brokerages, the things that make this country go. Overwhelm the forces of this evil thing that has gripped our nation, and the future of the planet, at it's piehole. Put a stop to the damn machine. It may be the only way we have left now.
'Patience.'
'Things are getting better.'
And the Democrats are about to give another $200B to Bush to kill more people, refuse to even censure a single criminal in the administration and
close their eyes to savaging of our Constitution.
Straight down, at the speed of sound.
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I am quite serious when I say I am thinking about a new line when I get the calls for money from the DSCC, DCCC, DNC and all the campaigns.
"I'm saving my money to get out, sorry. You had your chances. It's too late."
Would someone, some public servant please convince me otherwise?
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update: and now, 'real life' intrudes. I must leave for a few hours. It would be nice to see this on the rec list, but .. that isn't really what matters to me. Thanks for being a sounding board, all of you.