I wanted to write a bit tonight about something I encountered in the comment threads of a diary within the past few weeks. The diary’s author had experienced a terrible loss. For the most part, the community rallied around with compassion and sympathy.
One of the ‘guests’ in the comment threads wasn’t so sympathetic at all. The person was comparatively new to Daily Kos, and felt that time spent ‘indulging’ in such sentiments was contrary to the purpose of the site, and that our political adversaries would take comfort in our sentimentality and lack of focus.
I have no idea if the person ever spent any time lurking in the diaries and comment threads - certainly the individual evidenced some fluency in comment dialogue.
More below! But, first, a word from our sponsor ...
 Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board. Just click on the Spinning Top to make a submission. Look for the Spinning Top to pop up in diaries around Daily Kos.
 Make sure that you include the direct link to the comment (the URL), which is available by clicking on that comment's date/time. Please let us know your Daily Kos user name if you use email so we can credit you properly. If you send a writeup with the link, we can include that as well. The diarist reserves the right to edit all content.
Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the fleur de kos...
|
One of the things I like best about Daily Kos is the focus on electing more and better Democrats. That is a highly noble objective, one I believe in and applaud without reservation. Yet, Daily Kos is much more. It is a community of human beings, with broad interests, with incredible skills, and imaginations, with a nearly inexhaustible font of insight and inspiration and compassion. People often come here to engage politically, to network, and that’s great. But they also come to relate to other human beings, to like-minded human beings, engaged with and involved in our world.
People make friendships. People relate with each other. They share thoughts on everything, they share emotions. It doesn’t mean they’re disrespecting the site or its lofty goals. Being in a campaign office is no different. People may be focused on electing a candidate, or winning an important political issue. But, they still relate as human beings. They may laugh and share jokes, they may share details of their families, or their work, or their pets ... it doesn’t mean that they abdicate their political goals when they relate that way.
There are diaries of every sort on Daily Kos. They are pootie diaries, and woozle diaries, and diaries on photography, and music, and home repair, and families who’ve lost loved ones while representing us in ... hazardous areas around the world, while living in harm’s way. There are diaries on fictional stories, diaries on hopes and dreams, diaries on remarkable histories. On needs, on gifts, on play. On debt, on caring, on amends.
By and large these activities take place with the blessing of the site’s founder, who understands that relating openly as human beings isn’t contrary to progressive integrity, to progressive achievement. That sharing a kind word and a comforting thought are not a sign of weakness, but are instead some of the strongest building blocks holding our community together, helping to make us better, and more effective, in all human endeavors, not merely the political ones.
I wouldn’t want to be a part of a ‘community’ so purity-fixated on achievement that every tiny thing is evaluated exclusively by that measure. Might as well declare sex as being for the purpose of reproduction only. Oh wait! Those people already HAVE their party.
This is the Daily Kos we have. And I love it so.
Thank you for visiting tonight, and best wishes to all our special friends at NN!
On to tonight’s comments!
From BlueJessamine:
In Steveningen's Top Comment Diary arizonablue shares her enthusiasm about the most EPIC Meet Up Evah ~ Glacier National Park!
Now that's what I call a Top Comment!
From Dragon5616:
Good diaries often spawn good comments. I liked TomP's comment and 4CasandChio's reply in xaxnar's excellent rescued diary Divided America? How about Class Warfare as Slow Motion Civil War? The rest of the thread is worth reading too.
Here's another good diary and another good comment. I really liked what artmartin had to say about the bully pulpit in Ian Reifowitz's rejoinder diary Are You Kidding Me? President John McCain's Economy Would Have Been The Same As President Obama's?
From BeninSC:
Flagged by DSPS owl, this comment by abs0628 is must-read for Elizabeth Warren fans!
Flagged by Ian Reifowitz, this comment by puakev gives good data on Obama's polling, with a followup comment (also by puakev) just below.
Flagged by priceman, this comment by triv33 isn't diminished by its brevity!
Top Mojo, courtesy of
mik!
1) No you wont. by brooklynbadboy — 180
2) Weird by onanthebarbarian — 117
3) You overlook one important fact by gjohnsit — 113
4) Germans know what totalitarianism is, by lysias — 112
5) Rethinking "Us" by bink — 90
6) Just read the TPM link- by gramofsam1 — 78
7) No, there isn't. by conniptionfit — 76
8) This infuriated me when I read it this a.m. by MNDem999 — 73
9) See, now this is why I get discouraged. by dance you monster — 67
10) I'm not sure I'd state it like that, but by Troubadour — 67
11) america is not centrist by Laurence Lewis — 66
12) Well I'm of the same by gramofsam1 — 66
13) I'm looking at a carton of eggs just wondering by jwinIL14 — 63
14) "won't get you progressive policies" by Bill W — 60
15) a progressive VP nominee by corvo — 60
16) it's hot on the Siberian side too . . . by Deward Hastings — 59
17) They won't be happy until we look like by coquiero — 58
18) I think it depends on the answer to the by praenomen — 59
19) It's not about moderates, Democrats, Republicans by Ray Pensador — 58
20) Precisely , you are so right about that and I like by wishingwell — 57
21) Bold ideas are no longer welcome by gjohnsit — 57
22) I'm going to guess by Mindful Nature — 56
23) Yikes by bink — 55
24) Barney Frank nailed it by plf515 — 53
25) No, Europe needs to worry about the same thing we by dkmich — 53
26) agreed by Deep Texan — 53
27) James Protzman, another arrestee, by MsSpentyouth — 52
28) So, I was not a bad American to disbelive by xxdr zombiexx — 51
29) Pasta, rice, cereal, fake oatmeal, no vegetables; by Hoosier Al — 51
30) But, but the generals that run the program say by LaFeminista — 51
31) Liberal Ideas Are No Longer Welcome. by Gooserock — 51
Top Comments with pictures, courtesy of
jotter!
