Am I the only optimist in the room?

[Tyo]

I’m not naïve. I know that in many ways America in 2006 doesn’t seem like America anymore. The Theocrats, the Brownshirts, the Corporatists, and the Imperialists seem to pretty much own the streets right now. I know that for the past five years everyday people have been getting the shit kicked out of them in ever more creative ways. Amazingly some of them still haven’t figured out who owns the boot that’s on their neck. It’s changing though.

We never really worried much about Fascism before. Couldn’t happen here. Now we are finding out that we were mistaken. And it’s not just the Dems and the DUers who see this. Republicans, old line Conservatives, and people who were just never really politically involved before are waking up too. The knowledge that it can happen here represents a loss of innocence that is good and is vital to our political development.

Once we have defeated Fascism and exposed the evils and corruption we’ll never look at this country in quite the same way again. We’ll be less trusting, more vigilant and more engaged. We will realize that America is not a piece of parchment safe in a glass case. It is a living organism that can be good or very evil depending on how it’s fed and nurtured.

As far as religion goes, I am not a believer so I speak as an outsider. But it seems to me that while a relatively small number of Fundie theocrats are making all the noise and garnering all the press there is a rebirth of ‘true’ religion and spirituality going on that involves a far greater number of people.

The Christians among them are not happy that their religion has been hijacked and defaced by people who differ little from Taliban thugs. They are turning to their roots and putting the focus on the Gospels where it belongs instead of on the likes of Leviticus and Revelation. This can only be good for all of us, believers and non-believers alike.

Finally, look at the countries around us, especially those other industrialized countries that used to be our friends and allies and will be again. Freedom may be in temporary slow reverse here, but it’s in pretty good health and moving forward in places like Canada, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and any number of other countries.

Even China is being forced to improve by its own people and the dictates of economics, while Japan in spite of some rumblings from it’s hardcore right wing remains a stable democracy with a strong middle class.

America is the odd one out and we can’t stay like that forever. We are no longer able to shape the outside world by brute force if indeed we ever were, and as hard as the Repugs might try they will never be able to create their own reality separate and inviolate within our borders.

What they are succeeding at is creating a weird reality in their own minds that is more and more removed from what most of the rest of us see and experience every day. People like us who have at least one foot firmly planted in the real world have the advantage over those who don’t and there are a lot more of us then there are of them

[BootinUp]

1. Check back in a week or two.

I'm feeling a little pessimistic at the moment.

[Sherman A1]

3. I'm with you!

Don't see things changing...

[acmavm]

2. Well, if it's between you and me, the answer is yes.

[Olney Blue]

4. Good post, Tyo. I like your optimism.

Welcome to DU! :thumbsup:

[Tyo]

12. Thanks Olney Blue

Get the feeling though that optimism is pretty thin on the ground around here.

[Common Sense Party]

26. Optimism is actively frowned on here.

I've seen people attacked for being optimistic.

[MikeE]

5. I agree

I think things will improve, especially after Nov. Still, it's kind of like cleaning out a closet, before things get better, there is shit all over the place.

[Tyo]

17. And sometimes it stays around for a while! n/t

[david_vincent]

6. Interesting perspective, but

I have to wonder about your "once we have defeated Fascism" statement. It's like that old cartoon where one scientist is diagramming his theory on a blackboard for another scientist. Right in the middle of all the arrows and symbols of higher math, it says "AND THEN A MIRACLE OCCURS" and the second scientist says "I think I see a weak point"...

Fifty million people died in World War Two to teach us that the only way to stop fascists is by killing them. Dare we forget that lesson?

[Tyo]

9. I think things are a little different now

In the 1930s millions of people all over the world thought Democracy was on the way out and Fascism was the wave of the future and the only effective bulwark against Communism. In Europe almost every country from Norway to the Balkans (including Britain) had a prominent Fascist movement or party. Clearly things couldn’t be more different now.

If America were to embrace some sort of updated version of Fascism or Corporatism it would be very much alone. And with our power and influence declining by the day, thanks ironically to the policies of the Bush administration, if we should ever try to tell the world to jump, instead of asking how high they’d just give us the middle-finger salute.

We are fighting Fascism in one country, our own. Our homegrown Fascists have virtually no support or sympathy abroad and our own people are getting fed up with them in increasing numbers. Are they going to put tanks in the streets and send out the Storm Troopers to start kicking doors in? Maybe, but I doubt it. And if they do I have a feeling that they’ll get more than they bargained for. Are they smart and dangerous and capable of throwing us some nasty curves? Sure. Are they also surrounded by “yes” men and increasingly out of touch? Yes to that too.

[whistle]

7. That was exactly how the jews talked before the nazis rounded...

...them up and shipped 6 million off to their deaths

[Tyo]

10. Not sure it's the same thing

As far as I know there is no population in America living under conditions analogous to those under which German Jews lived for generations. They were for the most part easily identifiable and had been regarded for centuries by other Germans with varying degrees of suspicion and dislike as a separate entity anyway. Therefore it was easy for the average German to either just not “see” or actively support their arrest. If our own Fascists, on the other hand, start trying to round people up I think that they’ll run into quite a bit more opposition both domestically and from other countries.

[Evergreen Emerald]

8. That is a beautiful sentiment.

I was where you are about six months ago. With every stunning revelation of the evil doings of this administration, I thought the light would beam and the truth prevail.

But, this silly tv show has me dismayed, because it exposes the total power of the neo-cons. Think of this: an ex-President, members of the Senate, historians, powerful political people and numbers of citizens called to ABC to stop the propaganda. And the calls are ignored. Because ABC knows they have no power.

The power has taken years to garner--but the neo-cons have it: the media, corporate, legislative, executive and nearly judicial.

The fatal flaw of course was that they discounted the internet leaving them vulnerable for now. But, with the legislative and corporate power, that flaw will soon be fixed: and we will be completely at their mercy. The elections? Hey, it was a given that Bush would loose the election in 2004. He was a buffoon and it was evident. Every marker that was historically accurate called it for Kerry. How could Bush have won? The power of diebold--they pulled it out. And we sat in stunned silence. And with every new affront we loose power.

As Bush succeeds in airing World Wide propaganda, and petitioning congress to overturn the bill of rights and negate our system of justice, we write letters that are ignored.

And those citizens (we don't know how many--certainly not enough to elect him) applaud his power grab, do not see that they are only hurting themselves. While they kiss Bush's feet, he takes their paychecks and freedoms and jobs and benefits and pockets them.

We are at the end of a Coup. And they have taken off the masks and are openly, defiantly powerfully airing a Heil Bush speech sandwich between propaganda.

I fear it will take more than letter writing to stop this coup.

[Tyo]

11. We have an ace or two in the hole

We are not a separate entity all alone in the world. We have to live, work, cooperate with other countries. We depend on them for our own safety and prosperity. Few of these countries are in sympathy with the Bush administration and most of them are appalled by what we have become. Moreover, we are not the America that we were in the 50s and 60s. To the extent that we run the show, it is because others allow us to not because they are forced to. If only one country, China, were to call in its chips we'd be up SC. You think they don't know this? The Fascist Neocon experiment isn't going to work. It's up to us to help speed its demise.

[welshTerrier2]

13. optimism requires a basis

i am hopeful we MAY have turned a corner as more and more Americans awaken ... but i think to truly be optimistic requires a degree of proof that we are on the right path ...

some of the elements i look at include: the gap between rich and poor, the status of global warming, whether our institutions serve ALL the people or mostly just special interests, the state of "death weapons" and how much of our GDP we spend on them, the state of our electoral process, the integrity of our politicians and the integrity of people in general, what we value versus what we should value, the state of education, the overall health of the environment, the degree of respect we have and we show for each other, the state of global politics (alliances, wars, world hunger and poverty), our ability to plan for the future (infrastructure, water resources, alternative fuels, population growth, immigration, etc) ... there are probably a bizillion other criteria ...

right now, and let me be very clear that this view is NOT just since bush took power, power in the US and globally is far too undemocratic ... he who has the gold makes the rules ... corporations, and their largest, greediest stockholders, have a stranglehold on most governments including, maybe especially including, the US government ... by almost all measures, this problem has gotten worse and worse and worse ... the one spark i see is that there is an awakening all around us ... not enough "get it" yet ... even liberals don't really get it or aren't willing to give the issue of fundamental democratic power sufficient weight and priority ... liberals peck around the edges of the problem but seem afraid to call it by its real name ...

so, on one hand, i'm eternally optimistic in the sense that we have a job to do ... that job is awakening others and spreading the word ... i'm confident that someday our efforts will succeed ... empire and oppression have a funny way of failing - sooner or later ... but we still live in very dark and dangerous times ... those with the greatest amount of power are evil ... they don't have our interests at heart ... and they will not relinquish their power without a very ugly fight ... we're not ready for that yet ... first, we need to educate more "soldiers" ... when enough understand, then we will be ready ...

based on these thoughts, i would say i'm more hopeful than optimistic ... we'll get there eventually but we have a very long and difficult road ahead of us ...

[Catchawave]

14. As an Edwards supporter....

I choose to be inspired...from his speech on June 22,2006 at the National Press Club:

I want to live in an America that is once again looked up to and respected around the world; an America that is an inspiration to common people everywhere who want to make their lives better. That means working to restore our legitimacy by strengthening international institutions or creating new ones; it means leading on the great challenges before us: whether it’s preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, ending the genocide in Darfur, or fighting extreme poverty and diseases that ravage societies. It also means a plan to substantially reduce our presence in Iraq, by at least 40,000 troops immediately, and to continue that reduction so that the Iraqis can take control over their own lives. As we do so, we should call upon the other countries in the region who have expressed an interest in securing the stability of Iraq to step forward. Restoring our credibility and legitimacy is absolutely essential if we are to defeat global jihadists.

How we work to improve our country and lift people up is also critical to restoring American leadership in the world. For decades, many drew inspiration from us, admiring how we worked everyday to make our country a better place. And the whole world is watching. Just as we fight poverty here at home, we must show more leadership in ending extreme poverty around the globe. It is wrong that close to half the world’s population – more than 3 billion people – live on less than 2 dollars a day. And it is a disgrace that millions of people suffer and die from diseases that are preventable – for example, a $5 dollar mosquito net could save a family from malaria; a few cents could vaccinate a child; and a $4 dose of medicine can help prevent a mother from transmitting AIDS to her newborn at childbirth. If we are to rebuild America’s moral leadership, we must do better at home – and abroad.

The entire speech at: http://oneamericacommittee.com/news/speeches/20060622/

[Tyo]

15. Take it from me

All the hype was not hype. Our country was a light and a promise for its own people and for other people all over the world. My parents are living proof of this. We can take it back.

[Catchawave]

16. Our country is going to be just fine !

We just need to shoo all the "evil-doers" out of office between '06 and '08.

And ... Welcome to DU :toast: :hi: :toast:

[AX10]

18. We can take back our country. We can start this Fall!

[OzarkDem]

19. I like it, you're hopeful

that's what we need. Hope and vision.

[Cobalt-60]

20. The animals attacking us are under Republican colors

Republicans had a fascist wish list before 9-11. (See: "Patriot Act")
I'll cheerfully accept the defection of any Republican...but I'll never trust them.

[Tyo]

21. Yeah I'm kind of with you on this

When the going was good they were fine with things, but now... On the other hand it's a really good sign that they think they're in trouble.

[watercolors]

22. I'm an optomist at heart

I believe everything will come back and bite them in the ass big time! I think prople are just plain tired of all the bull shit and have tuned out the rhetoric of this administration

[Catchawave]

23. You betcha !

Lady Liberty will persevere :hi:

[elocs]

24. I like to prepare for the worst

and if something better happens I will be pleasanly surprised.

[Telly Savalas]

25. If they bring back the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities

or starting making people drink at differenet water fountains based on their race, I might start getting a tad pessimistic, but until that happens I'll hold onto the belief that while setbacks may occur, things will slowly but surely get better.

[Fire Walk With Me]

27. I'm optimistic that the worst conditions bring out the best in people.

And that they outline needed change without cause for pause.

This is a classic bully situation. A group of aggressive punks have stolen the white house and those of us who just want to enjoy our lives have to deal with it. Know that said punks are purposely creating destruction and deprivation in order to foment greater chaos, as they enjoy it, and as it is seemingly their sole purpose. They hold any who cannot stand up and fight them as weak and laughable, although they themselves take the weak path. They want to fight, and to bounce the world down a notch, back to a colonialism and rampant expansionism. They want to live without accountability or responsibility for their actions, and must create an environment in which to do so. At our expense.

Look to information regarding bullies and their tactics to commence response. And know that we've already stared them down regarding privatizing social security. We can do so again and again, when the decision is in our hands. Ghandi, people, Ghandi. There is far greater power in truth and love than in force and destruction. We can bring this around to an environment in which support, reinforcement, accountability, and responsibility lead the way. We can unify at every level and find the strength that is the citizenship of America under the Constitution.