Why Blog?
I’ve noticed that, between bursts of outrage, my blogging has systematically slowed down. There’s good reason for that: the motivation behind political writing (well, mine at least) is the feeling that you’re making a difference. But lately, I haven’t had that feeling, and it’s different from when the Republicans didn’t care what the left thinks. That’s to be expected, and in fact that rightist hostility provokes challenges. It’s a little different when you feel its your own so-called allies ignoring you. It’s humiliating: you work to elect a group of people who say they’re going to represent your interests… and then they don’t. And they get mad when you’re not grateful when they do the least they could do, as will health care, or betray you, as with the FISA amendments act that retroactively legalized warrantless wiretapping.
I try to keep up the fight, which should be easy enough with assholes like BP on the scene. But it’s not: if anything, BP, following Katrina, is of a piece with so many other failures of government to rise to the occasion. I’m talking about real health care reform, real financial reform, the climate and energy bill that’s in trouble. Every single good idea that comes down the pike is pulled, poked, twisted, and ultimately raped of that which made it good to begin with. Our government simply cannot help itself: just last week we saw the House bill that purported to counter the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizen’s United ruling, which opened the door to unlimited corporate cash in elections, fail due to loopholes written for the NRA. And, instead of closing that loophole, the our Reps’ instinct was to open MORE loopholes.
Some people like to talk about the politics of the possible, what we can and can’t do in our particular system. I call bullshit on those people: politics, the politicians tell me over and over again, is about courage. “The courage to do what’s right.” “The courage to stand up for the little guy.” Putting aside the fact that most of our representatives and senators are wealthy, well-connected people, outside of facing death, what could be more courageous than risking your job to do the right thing by the vulnerable people in your state? I don’t think I’ve EVER seen political courage in my lifetime. Since Reagan, I have seen working people, poor people, marginalized people, and children get one punch in the face after the other, and on those occasions where the elites try to do something good, it comes out evil anyway.
It is a farce. And I find it very difficult to take it seriously or pay attention to it or to participate in it, although it MUST be taken seriously, because the frivolous silly twits who run this place pass dangerous laws that can hurt you or make you stupid or deprive you of your freedom, and that’s when they’re not coming up with wars to go fight.
So that’s why you don’t see as much here anymore. Our friends in Washington really aren’t, and our opponents hate us even worse. It’s pointless to write about it as anything other than a freakshow, and since our political elites don’t care what we think… well, there’s a video at the top of this post that gives you a good idea about what I’m doing.
On that note, I’m enjoying a very nice British-style pale ale: I made it with two-row pale malt, honey malt, Amarillo hops, and a double dose of Fuggles.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:01 am
Giving up is just that.
Giving up.
The fight never ends, because badness never ends.
June 23rd, 2010 at 11:34 am
nah man. I’m tired of it.
i have better things to do than bang my head on a wall day after day. It’s pointless to deal with these people. they’re psychopaths with power: talking to them doesn’t change anything, the most you can do is primary them and replace them with a new psychopath.
June 23rd, 2010 at 11:46 am
over at atrios’ place, they’re discussing the fact that the Blue Dogs may take a beating this election. and here we come to a textbook example of why I feel like i’m done: the conservative blue dogs will lose to more-conservative republicans, who will do an even worse job than the blue dogs. Meanwhile, the media will untruthfull report that the dems lost by being too liberal. the democrats will believe this, and move further to the right. When the republicans crash and burn again, a right-wing democrats will take that republican’s place. lather rinse repeat.
On top of this, the democratic party establishment will go out of their way, as they have done repeatedly, to foreclose on primaries and to force out progressive and liberal candidates.
That’s how it goes, that’s how it ALWAYS goes.
and to think I could be brewing beer instead of writing about this frivolousness.