Ahead of the Curve? Bad for Your Health? Can't Stand the Wait?

[Stinky The Clown]

I've been an active member of DU longer than some and less time than others. But one thing that strikes me as clear is that we're all generally more informed than the American public-at-large. And where we share knowledge with them, we've almost always known about a given story longer than the public-at-large. Sometimes hours or days longer. Sometimes weeks or months longer.

We're also much more passionate about or beliefs. We are always ready to act or to quick to call for action by those in a position to act.

We are, in almost all respects, ahead of the curve. Even where we disagree or come to find we're wrong, we're at least ahead of the curve in knowing the issues, if not the outcomes.

Now I speak only for myself, but I suspect others are the same way ...... we get all worked up over shit. We yell and scream at the four walls over shit. We curse and demean our opponents over the shit they do. his can't be good for our collective blood pressures, our collective mental stability, our collective heart functions. All this pent up anger, or frustration, or anxiety, or visceral hate can't be a good thing.

The physical effects of what we know, what we feel, what we want, what we *know* to be right, makes us less able to wait and to be strategic in our thinking. We want it all now. We want change ... NOW. We want action .... NOW. We want justice .... NOW

On any given issue, since we're so far ahead of the curve, we think we **have** waited patiently. We think we **have** shown restraint. We think we **have** been respectful of others. We think we **have** been more than reasonable in the time we've given the public-at-large to catch up to us.

I suspect we could be mistaken. I suspect the public-at-large needs more time *from the time they learn of an issue** to be ready to make a change than we would be from the time *we* learned of that same issue.

I don't know what the answer is. Do we just keep screaming at the four walls? Do we just keep screaming at each other? Do we just keep hoping? Do we just allow 'a little more time' for shit to sink in? And then allow a little more 'a little more' time?

For me, it seems the truth is, as it almost always is, somewhere between the two possible extremes.

I think the public-at-large still needs more time to catch up.

But so too, do I think that they **are** starting to get it.

I had always thought there would be one single, orgasmic event that would be a tipping point. But I now think there will, instead, be a whole series of tiny, unnoticed tipping points. Different tipping points for each person. And for some, there may never be a tipping point.

But I feel a change in the wind. I feel an increasing desperation in the spin that is put on things. I see increasing outlandishness in they way stories are being spun. I see more attention being paid to stories that they attempt to bury.

The latest dump, which contained the story of the guy pissing on the Koran was only 45 minutes old before it was on cable news. The DSM is hanging in there ... and building. The stories about Iraq pretty much all unfavorable to the cabal.

I'm not happy. I'm not satisfied that we're being heard. I'm not satisfied that we're winning. I'm not full of hope and joy.

But I feel a shift.

And for that, I am able to start thinking about a true turn in direction for the country.

I'm hopeful that 06 could go our way. I'm hopeful that there might be some attention paid to the voting problems we face. I'm hopeful that all the bad news that keeps coming out and staying alive because the spin's not nearly as effective as it once was will allow the public-at-large to pay attention when - at the the right time - voting issues come back to the surface.

Or is any positivity I feel just the result of my being ahead of the curve and the insanity that being ahead of the curve causes?

[Bellamia]

1. The change in the wind

is almost imperceptible; so those not ahead of the curve are slow to recognize it. More patience on our part is required, admittedly some of us are running out of it. But let's hang in there, when the shit hits the fan (the change in the wind is noticed), what a great day that will be. Along with Patience, Hope is called for.