On my 18th Birthday, I cry for my future...

[hope42mro]

Warning, this is really sentimental, but hear me out because I'm going to be very candid. And I speak for alot of new Democrats.

I turn 18 tomorrow, February the 11th. I feel frightened for my future.

A few months ago I read Al Franken's Liars and the Lying Liars who tell them. It made me so aware of the corruption, and dishonesty, and manipulation that permeates and spoils our government. Suddenly I went from an idealist who thought our country was immune from corruption, to seeing how easy it is for greedy people to take advantage of the unsuspecting. How easy it was for them to take advantage of ME! And of MY FAMILY! And I hate them for it! I detest them and loathe them and want to make them sorry for abusing me. I want to make them pay dearly for slyly abusing my trust!

So I resolved to get active immediately. But who was I to look to? The Democrats?? They had a perfect candidate in 2000, a vice president, a southerner, a war veteran, etc. But he STILL lost! (You might say, "No he won!" I'll meekly say "So? :shrug: Bush is still in power. He's still crapping on my future") So I was hesitant to trust them with my new found anger. I felt it was them who let Bush convince me Iraq was justified. So there was no one in the Democratic party I trusted to uproot the liars.

No one except Wesley Clark. He was DIFFERENT. He wasn't outright angry in the Dean sense. He felt betrayed. "Betrayed," I thought. Exactly! He was different. A dirt poor student using school to excel in life. That's me! Someone at the top of whatever he was a part of. That sounded so awesome! What a role model! When he talked about social issues they were simple, broad, easily understood by someone outside of politics. Someone like me, a teenager, looking over our country and realizing something is WRONG here. He was a decorated general who led a humanitarian war to stop what nearly became Holocaust II. "He's a Democrat??" I thought to myself. If he's on board with them, than so am I.

Anyway, I joined his campaign because he inspired me and I had no doubt he would inspire others. Night and day, canvassing and phoning, warm welcomes and profanity, I shed sweat and tears for this man. I thought his credentials would be as obvious to every American as they were to me. I saw a tide turning in America. We would finally be able to beat the Liars. The truth twisting, name calling, scheming, "my ideology is better than yours" bastards. We'd finally stick it to them with Wesley Clark. Because Republicans would trust him over Bush for National Security. They'd trust him for less government when they heard him decry the PATRIOT ACT. They'd see his humble roots, his deep faith and strong family. Here was our savior. Ohhh he was so good.

So what the F**K happened?

I'm really, REALLY upset. I'm so disappointed in democrats. And I don't care if I get thrown out of DU for saying that. I feel like the American Democrats were given Excalibur to swipe down the dragon and they threw it aside because they usually used a wooden sword (which hurt sometimes, but generally the dragon ate wooden swords for breakfast...)I just don't get it.

What am I supposed to do now? Wesley Clark was one of them, so I trusted in the wisdom of the Democrats. I trusted them to recognize this man. I'm 18! I SAW it! He was different. He was unspoiled by politics. He genuinely wanted to help America. To help me reclaim my future. And now he's GONE! My hope for an unspoiled future: beat up; my bold dream of helping to stem the tide of growing conservatism: gone.

So now I guess I turn to Kerry, right? Who basically has the chances of Gore. Which, we already know, doesn't bode well. The Republicans will question how a man can criticize a war he voted for. They already dismiss him as a tax and spend liberal. They'll say he betrays veterans because of his affiliation with Fonda. I'm candidate less now, so don't think I'm attacking him. It's the truth, I've heard it on FOX, on the Right wing radio shows.

That's why I'm so afraid. It's already begun. They've already started the smear campaign they raged against Gore. I thought I could make a difference. I thought I could trust the democrats. I thought we could beat Bush and the Liars who hurt America.

But you dismissed Excalibur when he was ours for the taking.
It's like a nightmare. A horrifyingly real nightmare.
I was wrong about everything.

[TakebackAmerica]

1. Agreed.

That was a wonderful post. Thanks so much for writing it. Spot on.

[ALago1]

2. I'm sorry to hear of your disillusionment

If I can console you in any way, it's that ANY Democrat would be light years better than Bush, and we have a very good chance of taking back the white house in 04.

Fight the good fight! Even though your number one choice isn't front and center.

[Renew Deal]

3. So right in so many ways.

:(

[lcordero]

4. I'm turned 30 years old today and I am ANGRY

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-dems17.html

Kerry says U.S. military needs 40,000 more troops

December 17, 2003

BY MIKE WILSON

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Tuesday he would expand the U.S. military within his first 100 days as president, contending 40,000 more troops are needed to meet America's responsibilities around the world.

How do you supposed that he is going to "expand the U.S. military within his first 100 days as president"?

:mad:

[BigBigBear]

5. Excellent post

and I agree.

This party embraced relative outsiders and won with them - Carter, Clinton - but also crowned tenured, established voices, and lost with them (Dukakis, Mondale).

Kerry is about as Establishment as they come.

[Mick Knox]

6. Oh a Happier Note

HAPPY BIRTHDAY :toast: :party:

Politics is NOTHING but corruption.

Thats the way it is.. on both sides. pick the party that MOST suits you and vote for who you dig... but never .. ever .. ever .. make the mistake of pretending politics is anything but .. Politics... Dem or GOP.

You have many elections to go!... me not so many probably.. I wish you the best and its good to see younger people so passionate.. maybe your generation can change it...

[cprise]

12. "Coke or Pepsi: Choose"

"Ummmm, I'll have an orange or an apple instead."

"Oh, a smart ass. Move along!"

[Kathleen04]

7. Another...

soon to be 18 year old right here with you.

I'm disappointed also..General Clark is the first candidate I have ever supported and this is the first primary I have ever followed. I sent over 300 letters to voters asking them to consider voting for General Clark. I'm proud of that and I've loved every minute of it. And even though General Clark is no longer in the race, I was very proud to support him and know that he was the best candidate in the race.

But, the fight goes on...I won't concede round 2 no matter who our nominee is. We cannot allow John Kerry or John Edwards or Howard Dean or whomever to be "Gored".

It is so important to oust Bush and, even though I'm feeling down now,..I'll be there to work for the nominee just as hard as I worked for General Clark.

I can't do anything less.

[hope42mro]

10. Your words are meaningful. Thx.

[OneBlueSky]

8. as you get older and more experienced, you'll learn that . . .

all politics is about compromise . . . you NEVER get everything you want, and most often you have to swallow some stuff you REALLY don't like in order to get just SOME of it . . .

[John_H]

9. EVERONE cries for their futures on their 18th birthday.

At least everyone with a brain, that is. That's what 18th birthdays are for, pardner.

So respect your elders and listen up: We're going to win this, and you're going to help. But first you will have a drink. Then, if you have any sense in your young body, you will have another drink.

Tomorrow you will fight. Happy birthday.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. What he said! and...

play the Alice Cooper Song!

[AP]

11. I'll feel the same way if Edwards drops out.

We always did feel the same. We just saw it from a different point of view. Tangled up in Blue.

[hellhathnofury]

14. At least your not me....

my B-Day is on July 29th, the first day of the convention. When and if, hopefully not, they send Kerry up and going to be even more fearful, 4 more wars!

[Stargleamer]

15. Excalibur got in the race too late, to the detriment of us all,

and when he finally chose to enter the race Dean had established a huge cadre of volunteers, and Kerry already a formidable campaign network in place. Clark would have had a better chance if had not waited so long. Me and my brother were so impatient last year as we waited for him to enter the race.

I don't know why Democrats feel like they have to give so much added weight to the winner(s) of the Iowa and New Hampshire. It seems that if California or Oklahoma had been the first contestable state, Clark would have had a much better chance.

I can understand your disappointment--Kerry is lacking, his speeches are lacking. Both Dennis and Clark were so incisive in their critiques of Bush.

[faithfulcitizen]

24. sorry, but i think it was perfect timing...

he has the grassroots volunteers, he had the money, he has the organization, what he didn't have was the DNC's and media's blessing.

[rockymountaindem]

16. I'm sorry that you're so disappointed.

You probably don't want to hear this, but quitting is not the way to win. Again, we don't always get what we want, and so we have to compromise. Just a few weeks ago I felt like you do. Our front-runner (I.E. Dean, who I support as much as all the rest) was being trashed by the media, and everyone was gushing about the capture of Saddam. I thought our country was doomed to 4 more years of Bush and I stayed up at night worrying about how we were going to a. beat * and b. survive as a nation if we lose.

Then I had an epiphany: the conservatives never really win in the long run. We progressives support progress, right? And progress never stops. Contrary to what Ann Coulter would have us believe, it is the conservatives who have been on the wrong side of every issue. If the conservatives had their way in 1776, we wouldn't have a country at all. All their victories are only temporary as time marches on. Don't let the bastards get you down. I'm sorry to see Clark go. He would have made a great candidate, as would any of those in the race. However, progress marches on.

[hope42mro]

17. I wish I could believe that. But here's the thing....

I don't think progress "marches on." There are people, tools, we need to enable in order for progress to happen. When we ignore those tools, thos people, well, how can we make progress. Progress DOESN'T just happen. In fact it can be undone. Look at Bush: Diplomatic relations- trashed, budget surplus-wasted, enviroment-sold to polluters, abortion rights-diminished. We can't relax and expect progress to JUST HAPPEN, we have to be forever watchful of the progress we've already made.

[indigo32]

18. As a person who shares your birthday (hey Happy Birthday! it's the 11th he

I feel your pain. I'd have been happy with Clark. He just got in too late. I'm very sorry to see him go, and have Dean tanking. I'm gonna keep fighting... but I understand your fear with Kerry.

[REP]

19. Cheer Up, Bucky, It Could Be Worse

When I was 18, Reagan was in office.

When he was 17, my uncle was flying unescorted bombers over Nazi Germany.

Things could be worse.

[Tinoire]

20. Do not cry for your future!

I cried at your age when I saw Reagan sweep into 1600 Penn Ave because I had just joined the Army and saw the hand-writing on the floor thanks to politically very astute parents.

It's now 20 some years later and I'm still fighting. Don't give up! The 12 year olds behind you are counting on you to keep the fire going.

I am really sorry to see people as young as you so emotionally invested in these dirty politics but take heart, please, because the times they are a changing! Populist movements have begun and we are demanding change. They can not and will not shut the people up, nor shall we go quietly to their wars.

[DemBones DemBones]

21. You have had a harsh lesson for a gift today

and I am sorry your birthday was not too happy. I hope you will be able to celebrate it in a few days, if not by Wednesday night. You only get to be 18 one time and it's one of those milestone birthdays, too.

It's important to try to keep things in focus, though not easy to do. Allow me to present my credentials:

When I was 18, I knew guys who were fighting in Viet Nam already.

The war ramped up when I was 19 and 20, two guys I'd dated were sent over when I had just turned 19, so I was writing to them and getting their letters from places like Da Nang.

When I was 20, I saw a guy who was a friend off at the airport, going to California on his way to Viet Nam. After his plane took off, his dad said, "Better him than me!" and laughed about it.

I was 20 when MLK and RFK were killed, and American cities saw riots.

I was 21, living in a different city, when Nixon was elected on a promise that he had a secret plan to end the war in Viet Nam. No one knew he was a bad guy -- he'd been VP to Eisenhower, who was a popular president .

Nixon was elected in 1968, the war dragged on for years, with Nixon and Kissinger doing a lot of bad things. I must have been 22, maybe 23, when Nixon sent troops into Cambodia,

I know I was 22 when students were shot to death at Kent State while protesting the war.


STOP!!! IMPORTANT INFORMATION JUST AHEAD!


It's crucial that you realize that, despite everything I've told you, my life was basically very good in those years. I went to college for two years, had fun and friends, dated, left to get married, worked in banking, which was a very good experience for me, and then my husband graduated from college and got a job and we had a baby.


Life IS good and you can have happiness while there are terrible problems in your country or in the world. Because, when you think about it, there are always terrible problems in your country and in the world. They change over the years -- I grew up with duck and cover drills in school, trained to know what an atomic bomb cloud looked like, what fallout was, where the fallout shelters were; you grew up with different concerns and fears. When you were 16, September 11 happened. When I was 16, JFK was assassinated.


The point of all this (if I haven't beat you over the head with it enough yet!) is that your life will most likely play out pretty happily, too, even if Bush is elected.

However, I agree that it is dangerous to let him have another term. We shouldn't take that chance. Knowing the danger as you do, I think you'll feel better if you work to get the nominee elected. Kerry may not be your ideal candidate, or mine, but he will be a far better president than Bush.

Your Excalibur is gone from this battle, but you can help make John Kerry a better candidate and combat the people who want to talk about him protesting the war. He served in Viet Nam, he saved at least one American life there, was wounded, received a bunch of medals. And he had the intelligence and conscience to come home and fight to end the war. Many of us admire him for both. Those who don't are going to vote for Bush no matter what you do. Do what can be done, convincing Dems and Indies to get out and vote for Kerry.

Best wishes to you!

[Crunchy Frog]

22. I wish I could tell you happy birthday.

I had my heart broken my first election when Gary Hart didn't get the nomination. However, this time the heartbreak is much deeper. Clark is a once in a lifetime kind of candidate. I hope you will see another one of his caliber emerge in your lifetime, I doubt I will.

I too feel that I'm living in a nightmare, and have ever since the bombs started dropping on Baghdad. I hope that the nightmare doesn't get alot worse. I'm not very hopeful right now.:-(

[asthmaticeog]

23. When I was 18...

...I watched in utter horror as Michael Dukakis got his ass handed to him in a humiliating and senseless loss to an evil war-pig named Bush. I'm supposed to be older and mellower now, but all I got was older and more pissed: my preferred candidate this time around doesn't stand a snowball's chance, despite his total brilliance, and my number 2 with a bullet just freakin' dropped out. I wish I had something to say that could console you, but you know what? Having two brain cells to rub together unfortunately equates to struggle in this society. You'll get used to it, and you'll get better at it. Yes, an inspiring candidate threw in the towel today, but don't throw in the towel yourself. His campaign is over, but his inspiration is still vital. Keep struggling with us. No one candidate is the movement, however strong that candidate may be. And frankly, in 1988, I'd have been really, really happy to have a Dem I didn't entirely care for (*cough* JOE BIDEN *cough cough*) over a Bush. And today the stakes are infinitely higher than they were then.

And besides, just because Clark's not running doesn't mean he's not going to be a part of the campaign. I suspect he'll become a critically important figure in the Democratic Party, come what may. He has integrity. Though he's no longer a candidate, I don't see him disappearing altogether.

Keep the faith - we can defeat this evil.

edit: typo