Seeing the Forest
Wow, this is the craziest delayed reaction to the election fallout that I have seen. I hope you can find some way to make sense of the mayhem. We all need voices like yours. I agree, though, that darker days lie ahead. Please come back.
I don't see it as crazy at all. It's pretty much how I feel too.
The Old World Order is gone now. We're plunging headlong into a chaotic and very unstable New World Order; one that even the "New World Order" crowd can't control. More things evil this way come.
Sometimes ya just don't much feel like blogging about it, ya know?
regarding the media, we could take over our local PBS stations, we have the numbers, but so far, not the will
anyone up for taking over WETA, firing Lehrer and Ifill, get in contact with me.
Believe me I understand why you're depressed about the whole thing, but if people like you just give up and go away, what are we going to do?
Surely you don't really believe that the Republicans are dealing with the world "as it can be made to be?" Yeah, they're certainly making things steadily worse, but that's because they're such a naive bunch of fools, not because they're actually changing anything. Civilization in China's over 6,000 years old, Japan's not far behind, Russia is not populated by fools, and neither are France and Germany. Bush isn't changing a damned thing about reality or anything else; they're all watching and waiting for the right moment to swat this flea. Of course we'll be victims of the fallout, but that's gonna happen regardless.
Dean is right -- as I've said for a generation, the battle really goes block by block, you have to organize locally, and he gets that. There are people in the Democratic party who are not simpering idiots, and things are going to change. IF we can make some headway in the upcoming LOCAL elections, and some REAL headway in the 2006 congressional elections, things will start to change much faster. If not, well, that's the time to start really worrying.
I hope you'll be back. We need you.
Your last line was your best. We're getting what we deserve. Of course, that's the collective we. Only an imbecile nation could possibly have elected Bush after what he did to us the first four years. Our fellow citizens are greedy, hateful spiteful bigots. 51% of the voters anyway.
Well, the current strategy is to sit back and hope that things really work out badly for Bush, and that way, the people will be so upset at how bad things are that they will vote for the Democrat. That will almost certainly be Hillary Clinton. Who will then spend 4 (probably 
years... strutting her moderate credentials, showing tough foreign policy, and otherwise traingulating, at the end of which (roughly 2017) the minimum wage will STILL not have crossed $6, another 40 million Americans won't have health care, etc., etc.
But we will all regard her as our savior because she won.
Lather, rinse, repeat. I personally find that lapsing into poetry helps me John-- but we all do what we must. Lok for you soon, big guy.
We need a new public.
We are dealing with Sleepwalkers.
The most we can hope for is to live our lives with purpose and show the sleepers what 'reality' is.
I have a piece about this on my site.
Sorry to hear you're going, but I understand how you feel. Since the election, I couldn't understand how the Dems and Kerry could lost. Then it dawned on me. For the most part, they don't stand for anything indentifiable. Oh, yeah. And the finger to the wind bit.
If Kerry would have come out with one clearly pricipled stand, I wouldn't feel so bad about it, but he didn't.
Kerry is a far, far better man than Bush could ever dream to be, but the average(whatever to hell that is)American would have never known it from the campaing.
"Surely you don't really believe that the Republicans are dealing with the world 'as it can be made to be?' Yeah, they're certainly making things steadily worse, but that's because they're such a naive bunch of fools, not because they're actually changing anything."
I think that the Republicans are evil and reckless, but not naive. They do have a plan, and they might ram it through. And if the U.S. is ruined, they'll go offshore with their holdings. (Their plan is for a militaristic, low-tax US with a servile working class and minimal government services.)
"The world as it is" is yesterday. The Republicans deal with tomorrow. They are not nice people, but they're smarter than we are.
Incidentally, what I REALLY wish is that the Democrats could just say "The Republicans, including Pat Robertson, are evildoers, and they will be judged." Some of their supporters would listen to that kind of criticism. But Democrats and liberals have committed themselves so thoroughly to nonjudgemental relativism that they are not longer able to say that kind of thing.
Well, then, I guess it is up to us lefties in the church to identify and rebuke evil.
I am bummed you are going away; I just found you! I understand, though. I went away from my blog for about two months. I ranted throughout the month of October and was beyond amazed and deflated by 11/2. Augh!
I quit for a while and feel like I have more perspective and am now having more fun, too! Come back when you've had a few good belly laughs, k?
Blessings on your house and your heart.
The die is cast. Facism has once again raised its ugly head and taken control, this time in the most powerful country on earth. The American people were not in the same condition as Germany after WW1. Yet, somehow, the same mindset has come to power. Things will get much. much worse long before they improve. Some of the damage already done will take decades to correct. The damage to come, longer yet to rectify. But we must not give up, even knowing we may not live to see the day when this madness ends. I have children and grandchildren to worry about, so I chose to keep speaking up, and out, about the wrongs I see everyday. I will not quit. Even though I live in the heart of Bush country and not many people care to hear what I have to say, fuck them. I will not quit.
sorry to see you go. I'd only just discovered your writing. Bloggers like you provide just the slightest glimmer of hope.
That having been said, in my mind it's too little too late, we're fucking doomed.
Try to enjoy your life - despite it all. Get outside and away from people for a little while.
Learn to play fiddle.
Unfortunately I think that the old French adage that a people deserve the government they elect is true. I just have a hard time accepting the fact that things will get worse before they get better, especially the next four years. But I beleieve there will eventually be a reckoning. I just hope it doesn't come down to another cataclysim, like the Great Depression, before the assorted ignorants and sleepwalkers wake up from their slumber and apathy and realize what was lost. I will not feel remorse for those who willingly voted to perpetuate the ruin of the middle class.
Oops, sorry for the misspellings of cataclysm and believe. Sometimes I type too fast and forget to proof read before hitting OK...Whatever...
Ricardo, that's is the least of our worries here. I've already had to correct my original post three times.
Save yourself, go take a break. I just wanted to say what you wrote is the truth, especially the part about the Democratic academic/credentialed/reality-based intramural horse hockey.
To win takes balls, as you point out. Why are the Republicans still attacking Dean? Because he has 'em, and refuses to be crippled by their rules. That's what makes him dangerous.
I hate to see you go. Hope you can bring yourself to return later.
I'm not sure the people elected this government -- in 2000 or in 2004. Even apart from the paperless voting machines operated and tallied by rightwing Republicans, manipulation of voting sites in liberal neighborhoods skewed results.
Then, people in large parts of the country are professionally, expertly misinformed. What is known from the blogs, the foreign press, even the inside columns of mainstream media, is never told to small town, suburban USA. The rightwing has built an alternative media, an alternative universe. Mainstream media can be faulted for not challenging it, but people mostly are going on what information is offered them.
The rightwing controls congress, the executive, much of the courts, and either controls or intimidates the press. Democrats need to break through, but it's a problem. Much of the press simply WILL NOT mention information (antiwar marches, anyone) challenging the standard presentation.
Europe seems still rational, and interested in quality of life as well as in corporate profits. China owns us. One hope is that the rest of the world will rein the US in, remembering what happened when Hitler was allowed to run loose.
Interesting times. Depression in every box. (Low spirits, I mean, but the economic kind may also apply.)
Do what we can. We must.
It's always fun to read what you write, but of course, writing isn't everything. In fact, it isn't much.
Do you have a plan to do something more politically effective than writing?
Or are you just going to sit back and watch sadly as your nation slides down the toilet bowl, probably taking the western world with it?
the saddest part of all this, is we've come to this point BEFORE creationism, before 10 commandments on every shithouse wall, before 9 fascists on the supreme court, before the next generation is taught Lynne Cheney's triumphalist type of history.
You're right to withdraw and put the light on in your OWN life, John. All over amerika, the lights are going out.
peace
Stopping the blog is sad and foolish. I value your ideas, and find no reason for you to stop writing. Sad and foolish!
Sad and foolish.
Yep. People learn. Sometimes slowly ... and rarely from mistakes others have made, but they do learn.
"Sad and foolish" -- Jennifer, I have not really gotten the message that my writing is highly valued by any but a few fans. STF gets 1500 visitors on a good day.
I agree that there are propbably better things to do than writing, but writing is what I'm good at. I'll keep my eyes open.
ted barlow disease is a debilitating ailment that strikes bloggers without warning. but with your help, we can stop this insidious killer of snark.
please give generously to the tbds association of america.
John, I've loved your site. I'm sorry to see you take even a little time off. You have a unique voice and a lot to say that I think is right on the money. But you should of course take all the tiem you need to rest, refresh, and come back fighting in whatever sphere you choose.
aimai
I fully understand about needing a break.
On your time off, try reading a different set of writers than the ones you usually hit; pick up some new slants on things, think at least six impossible things each day before breakfast.
Think long-term for a while, or at least longer than 2008. Lots of guys have good short-term instincts- not so many with longer perspectives, and those that do tend to be effective (Henry Kissinger...). Think about "end runs."
Wonder if you might be more influential by working alongside non-USA folk whose interests parallel your own. Many overseas groups and businesses have a vested interest in stopping Bush, and you might be able to add to the pressure by working with them- and maybe even get paid by them. It is completely possible that you could get more accomplished there, rather than continuing to beat your head against the wall within this country.
There are always underlying environmental and resource issues that drive public change, and it is easy to miss these in the daily grind of political writing- so ponder peak oil and how/why it is driving US policy; look into the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet and try to work out a response to that. Investigate how resource scarcity is shaping religiosity both in the US and abroad, especially in Muslim lands.
Look into the *business* of creating change- who would benefit financially from what you want, and how can you personally tap into that? Who can benefit financially from what you can predict? What do you know that can be made into a product that people can use, that will create change just by its existence? Are there any web business models you can follow that will increase your personal firepower and make you a decent living at the same time? "The Register" seems to make money, has a wide audience and a decidedly pointed political philosophy- can you do something with their model, within your own interests?
Maybe get into Robert Anton Wilson and really understand what he is talking about when he says that politics always operates on the level of dogs fighting over territory- which is why so many intellectuals do so poorly at it. And why the most capable political conspiracy or movement of one decade is the stupidest and most incompetent in the next. Or look into Peter J. Carroll, Dean Radin, Rupert Sheldrake, and similar folk and notice that the world is not the immutable Newtonian orb we assume it to be.
Anyway, good luck- I hope you do come back in some form- equipped with shark teeth, ready to rip...
The only answer I see is to lobby foreign countries to give us some real news services. They are being slow on the uptake here, spend money for news services here (cheap) or fight us some time in the future (expensive).
I see the same future for the US, but with high taxes on the middle class to pay off debt with little or no services provided and super militarized. This is why I am encouraging my children to find a new country to live in. It makes me sad to do this, but I feel it is the only way to ensure they have a peaceful, quality life in the future.
.
I can totally relate to this post, I totally commisserate, and I'll totally miss you.
Pathetic losers
I'm totally new to seeing the forest, but I had to chime in, because you said that your hit number was so low.
On several occasions I've been referred to articles on this site by Matt Stoller from bopnews. When I tried to read them in a couple of hotspots (mostly Panera) that employed filters, I got a message which said that your site was blocked, because it displayed pornorgraphic or other inappropriate content.
It can't be swearing. Yours doesn't seem any more crass/vulgar in this regard than kos.
Anyway, it could be that those filters were keeping your numbers lower than they should be.
Something for the other contributors to consider.
I really, really like your work.
Although I can understand your feelings that no one is listening, I think you may be underestimating the power of your words (and the words of others).
I know there's quite an undercurrent here, and I'm sure it's much more pronounced elsewhere. Sure, there's some delayed reaction but I've thought for a long time that the behavior of the US was an awful lot like that of a patient coming out of shock or a victim of PTSD --- much of which was brought on by this admin and exploited (you know --- smallpox and duct tape).
I don't doubt for a moment that things will get much worse before there's any hope of them getting better. And I'm far from the only one.
And it's been really really really helpful --- even comforting --- for me to find out I'm not the only one thinking this way.
Your numbers may be less than, say, Kos, but IMO, that's a good thing. I like Kos but it's like a freaking bazaar over there --- totally insane. Hey, I'm a country girl --- there's only so much crowding I can handle!
In any case, long way around, I suspect many more people have been listening than you think and you've had a much greater impact than you know.
I think you're right, John, except for one thing - I think we've hit the tipping point, or are about to, and we don't even know it yet.
Taking time off as needed should be mandatory for bloggers.
Dude,
You are killing me. I've been grappling with this issue for a while now; the notion of turning the blogoshpere into something more than a giant bitch session and membership in the Mutual Backslapping Association (with the occaisional lukewarm traction garnered through honest to god reporting in the blogosphere, as illustrated in the Gannon story). My diary that I linked to above, somewhat a call to arms, was met with what can only be described as "tepid" response from the KOS community. And then yesterday, Eric Boehlert over at Salon pretty much dissects the state of the media in much the same way you describe. It's very discouraging.
Here's my encouraging thought for the day: I truly think the blogosphere is a new and potentially powerful front in the information dissemination wars. The trick for folks like yourself, who have a choir to preach to, is to INCREASE the size of the choir. Once we can start changing the way people GET their information, we can begin to build a sustainable movement. ... And I believe ONLY THEN, can we hope that bottom-line oriented entertainment-obsessed television coroprate media whores will get on board. And make no mistake, they will WHORE for our side, we have to prove to them, however, that we are a consumer group WORTH whoring to. That they can make a buck by their whoring.
You know what I mean?
Consider this possiblity sometime in the future: Some fucked up Fox-lite cable network (insert ANY of the usual suspects) sees their ratings register somewhere below CSPAN-2 Book Review and, fresh out of Ken Lay-style accounting fixes, the board entertains all ideas. So some young "outside the box" exec. says, "this is gunna sound radicial, but what about we decide to go liberal. Here me out. We call it 'Open and Honest' reporting." -- Hums, haws -- Wet behind the ears exec continues, "I think there is a market here. Look at Air America. We all thought it was a loser, out of money inside a year, and yet (insert whateverdafuck growth analysis charts these fucks do) shows that this network is not only surviving, it's thriving! And the blogosphere is BOOMING. Look at the Daily KOS, they get 250,000 hits a day -- or whatever -- ... and look at Salon. Once dead in the water, they turned a profit on Q4 2004 and ever quarter since. ... "And look at the success of The Daily Show" ... In any event, you get my point, I hope. I think bloggers need to break away from the circle-jerk mentality we get into at times (recommend me! recommend me!), and CHALLENGE each other to INCREASE the choir we are preaching to.
I hope you are just frustrated and won't walk away for good. Folks need leaders. They're few and far between.
Here's an idea: Drink a pint of Guinness. It always helps me.
The Guinness solution only works up to a point. I've had my share, believe me. (More ales and lagers than stouts, however.)
If something new started happening, I'd be glad to be a part of it, but I think I've hit the wall as far as the present state of affairs is concerned.
As someone who has appreciated your commentary long before you became a regular poster here (particularly over at MY's place), if in fact you retire from the blogosphere, I'll miss you, Ziska. Much of the frustration and dismay that you vent here is all too familiar to me.
Damn, it hurts.
I've written about BURNOUT on my blog, "A Better Nation." To counteract it myself, I have turned more toward lively posts about pop culture and other topics. I may lose some of the political continuity, but I cover more bases. Being entertaining helps keep my juices flowing. Those of us who feel we are carrying the weight of the nation or of the WORLD on our shoulders can't carry it - or feel that way - every day.
I welcome visitors to my blog for something sort of fresh, and I welcome suggestions as well.
Thanks, Lawrence
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