I think I'm close to giving up.

[nonconformist]

Just throwing my hands up in the air and my head down in the sand.

I'm so completely frustrated, angry, sad, worried, discouraged and demoralized.

I know, I know... I need to take a break. And maybe that will help, it has helped in the past. The thing is, it helps less as time goes on, and it's increasingly harder to really "take a break".

Ignorance really is bliss, isn't it?

We have some very, very real problems in this country right now... hell, in this world. I think the damage is too far gone, I really do. I don't think anyone can fix it. Especially when so many people are just content, or apathetic, or ignorant. Even on the left, we get bogged down in details and petty infighting. I know I'm not the only one that sees the big picture, and DU has always been and continues to be my slice of sanity in an insane world. But even here, like with the illegal immigration debate, there are so many progressives that are playing right into the hands of big corporate interests. Maybe some realize that, and maybe some don't. My hot button issue has always been labor - I'm a populist that fully recognizes that what made America is a strong middle class. Outsourcing and insourcing slave labor will be the death of America as we know it. The irony is that this isn't even good on a global scale. I saw a documentary on Link TV the other day about how globalization and a cheap food market has actually increased starvation, because third world nations are becoming unable, and unwilling, to feed themselves.

Not to even mention the issues surrounding the environment and peak oil. The corporate elite have us by the short and curlies, and they know exactly how to present their case to manipulate well-meaning people and create diversions and infighting.

Then you have the PNAC agenda, the completely IGNORED PNAC agenda. And Diebold. Rising medical costs, millions without insurance (including myself). A pathetic, stagnant minimum wage. Rights and personal freedoms eroded by the day. Bankruptcy legislation written by credit card companies and passed. Big media conglomerates whose only goal is profit. And distraction, distraction, distraction. A distracted, complacent, self-centered populace that only cares about issues that directly effect them in a negative way. Even many on the left, which is what is really discouraging. And they don't see the big picture - which is all this shit affects everyone but the corporate fat cats negatively in the end.

I think we're fucked, frankly. I fear for my family and my children.

[Deja Q]

1. Which was why my generation is called "Generation X". Hmmm,

I wonder which previous generation came up with "baby boomer" and "X'er" and my fave, "Generation Y" (aka "WHY")

X meaning "screwed", BTW.

[nonconformist]

2. Gen X'er here, too

Little did I know that it meant I'd get a front row seat to the end game.

[stop the bleeding]

9. same here on both accounts

From Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Hang on lady we're going for a ride

[katty]

3. even a front row seat at the End Game(s) provides

opportunities for personal growth, and if you choose to share it with others, collective growth.
yes, the unraveling is always a super screwed period of time so one just has to find some place inside/out to detach from the 'maddening crowd' without becoming obessively isolated (that's how 'going postal' happens). Nevertheless, it is always a personal choice-I'm amazed I haven't given up yet.

[Sal Minella]

10. "Baby boom" was what Time-Life magazines called the astonishing

number of babies born to returning G.I.s after World War II. I remember the portable classrooms set up on the school grounds when they entered first grade. And now they're approaching retirement.

[blue cat]

4. I think that you are right

I don't think our nation will ever recover. There are days that I do give up, but ultimately, I won't. Noone that I know has heard of PNAC. Noone seems to care, but my friends on the net. I think it helps to go to local meetings because it helps not to feel alone in your way of thinking.

[fooj]

5. I'm a boomer...I know how you feel..........

It's a scary time. :cry:

[flordehinojos]

6. i wonder if in some deep, deep, wavelength, the demoralization that you

are feeling, that i too am feeling, that the whole country feels, is connected in anyway with the demoralization that binds the bush family together--i mean they are a whole bunch of liars, a whole bunch of narcissists, a whole bunch of no-gooders, and a whole bunch of ignorant fear mongers.

some of them are drunks, some of them are criminals who are above thelaw because of their money, their power and their position, all of them are so empty of any real human values and caring ... and that is what they are seeding in this country and on the world ...

yes, i think that in some deep sense this demoralization which now permeates the globe originate somehow with the bushes, their dynamics as individuals and as a family and their political power grab.

[nonconformist]

18. Interesting perspective

You may be on to something there.

For me, I think what is the most demoralizing of all is how when you speak out about just how dire things really are, you're brushed aside as a fringe, tinfoil extremist.

[flordehinojos]

42. and don't do the bushes do a lot of that? they do! and yes, it is

demoralizing...that hearing on censure yesterday was very, very demoralizing...hatch, cronin, l.graham, sat there all singing praises to bush as being an honest, truthful, straightforward president, and attacking john dean as a convicted felon, a jailed man, a man who wanted to sell his book...it was a page right out of the twilight zone, or hell's chamber of lies...and as long as people defend the bushes, the bushes don't give a hoot how they are defended...they all stand on lies
of their own, or on lies made up by others to defend them. they are the kind of people my mother told me never to associate with (and darn if theren' are a whole tsunami full of them) and the road my mother told me never to travel on: lying, cheating, and more lying.

[blue cat]

37. Not the entire country

Tonight my repub sister said that she will always be loyal to Bush. I said some mean things after that, then she said that Rush was right about liberals being hateful. I told her I didn't give a shit if she thought I was hateful because I'm pissed that Chimpy has destroyed our country. We still had a good night anyway.

[hopeisaplace]

7. I hear you, and you said one very right thing "ignorance is bliss"

before I became truly aware of what is going on, I was a happy as a sheeple in shit.
Now, I do what you said, I take breaks from reality. I let my family absorb me, I absorb
them. I live moment to moment. Day to day. I've become really good at doing that.
In fact, I think I could teach a course on living moment to moment and day to day now.
It's a part of who I am. Live for the next 60 seconds. Think of your life in 60 second increments
and you will find a way to enjoy things in minutia.

[villager]

8. Michael Ventura wrote about this in the new Austin Chronicle:

<snip>

This young girl's song is a moment of renewal amidst the flames.

The world's on fire. ... No one of any ideological persuasion can deny that. It's as though the inside of everything is coming out. What does that look like? It looks like this: Human beings live longer while so many marvelous animals become extinct – and the nation in which human beings are living longest, that nation rains death upon places of much shorter life spans. And it looks like this: The earth gets warmer because of our incessant human heat – the hot human psyche creating technologies that melt the ice caps, raise the oceans, threaten everything that this same psyche has constructed. And we all, of every ideology, feel threatened. We have bodies made of snow. ... Who really feels that they can withstand these flames?

And there's nothing we can do. ... It feels like that. Forgive me if I commit the indiscretion of quoting my own poetry, a letter in verse to my comrade Steve Erickson: "History has ended without ending. Now we have something else./It is burdened with history/but it is not/what we thought of/as history./It is wild/with meaning/but it is not/what we thought of/as meaning./The signature of the "real"/is that it will contradict itself/if you hang around long enough./... We are caught between the apex of meaning and its total destruction./We can neither save the former nor accept the latter./But we will die trying to do both./If only we were as happy as Henry Miller!"

Which is perhaps why I found joy in the last line of Sahara Smith's refrain: And there's nothing we can do/But let our bodies go. Not in Miller's hedonistic sense (though I like that too!), but in this way: We cannot hold on to what was, and we cannot hold on to what we were – not as a culture and not as individuals. If we try to hold on, we will only lose. We must let our bodies go – our physical bodies, spiritual bodies, cultural bodies, our very souls. Stop holding on, let go of what's been because that's the only way to find the new and to be new. If there is something new to come out of all this destruction, it will not be discovered by struggling to remain as we've been. And if it isn't discovered, it's doubtful that anything else will be, at least for us.

<snip>


http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2006-03-31/cols_ventura.html

[hopeisaplace]

12. This is really beautifully said, thank you

[nonconformist]

13. Thank you for that.

I think he nailed it. It really is about being able to let go I think.

[villager]

44. yes. you are welcome.

n/t

[mdmc]

11. I love your sig line...stay true...

(I got to see Bob Weir on Tuesday in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was a groovy show.:~) peace nonconformist, peace.

[nonconformist]

15. My poor little sigline looks so sad next to my OP, doesn't it?

Thanks, peace back to you. And rock on!

[mdmc]

41. :-)

:~)

[WhiteTara]

14. let's not stick our heads in the oven today

Our lives are shorter than flowers
Then
Shall we mourn?
No we shall teach our children to plant gardens
and wear bright colors
Because our lives are shorter than flowers

Toltec Fragment

[AlCzervik]

16. We all feel like that at times but remember, the gop wants you to stay

on voting day, they hope they you will indeed just give up so don't give them what they want. I decided this year i'm volunteering at the democratic state convention just to be more involved in the process i always bitch about so i can see first hand what goes on, please hang in there ok?

[cliss]

17. I agree with you that the S.S. America is sinking.

While the more alert of us can see it happening day by day, some people are oblivious to what's happening. This country is becoming a 3rd world country. Most people realize there is something seriously wrong with this country, though.

I have gone through the same feelings of anger, frustration, a real feeling of helplessness that there's really nothing we can do. I had been surfing a wave of anger that consumed me since about 2001.

Here's how I've been able to cope with this nightmare: my world has become much smaller. I don't worry so much on a macro level. I just focus on taking care of my family; we live cheaply. We have gotten completely out of debt. We try to help others because there are so many people who are just about destitute.

For me, it feels like I'm riding out a storm. This is a horrific storm. It's America's "period of atonement", and we will be better for it.

But it certainly is horrible when you're going through it.

[katty]

21. concur you write...

>For me, it feels like I'm riding out a storm. This is a horrific storm. It's America's "period of atonement", and we will be better for it.

But it certainly is horrible when you're going through it.

[hopeisaplace]

19. Oh, I have another tip that works for me,

(maybe it can work for you too)

Watch the food channel, discover your creative side, have a glass of wine,
cook and learn all at the same time...it's rewarding to feed the souls you
love with good food. Sounds simple, but I'm shocked at how therapeutic it is.
Hang in their sweety. In you is a strength you don't even know about yet.

[cap]

27. i'm glad that I'm not the only one who does this...

the food network channel is nice... no worries... be happy...

[hopeisaplace]

31. lol, you said it...simple, pleasing, and far away from reality

I'm in the kitchen cooking..I used to have the NEWS on...now I have
the food channel on, and my meals are 150% better...I think the news
was stressing me out so much that I was "whipping" things together like
a raged maniac...now I'm creating art. :) :)

[nonconformist]

34. I've been trying to remodel my house.

That's been a nice distraction.

But right now not much is happening, because we ran out of money.

I need to find a cheap hobby. :P

Love the Food Network.

[hopeisaplace]

35. hey if there's a farmer's market near you, make a day out of

shopping for fresh ingredients for a new dish you can cook..
it's fun and not to expensive :)

And, I started sponge painting some walls in my house..that's
not expensive either ...first time I've ever done it, and it
turned out amazing..looks like a pro did it..I'm so proud of it :)
A little glaze and extra paint you have in the house is pretty much all
you need ..and a sponge. For fun, test it out on an inconspicuous wall,
if you've never done it. Distractions are the best.

[LSparkle]

20. I thought it was just me ... I definitely identify with that

My father passed away just about a week ago and since then I've been in a strange(r), suspended sort of existence. I consider his passing a blessing, because he won't be around to see the chaos that is beginning and will no doubt grow worse (and to see what happens to the rest of our family, since we are certainly not among the "haves"). He lived through the best times in this country -- he fought in WWII and went to college thanks to the G.I. bill, lived through the roaring '60s and got the satisfaction of seeing Nixon resign -- and I'm hoping his spirit can help me through what may be the worst times ahead.

[nonconformist]

22. I'm so sorry about your father. Stay strong. nt

[INdemo]

23. the Republican Power structure in Washington is so strong now

that there is absolutely no hope in defeating them. Given the MSM stance with these crooks and the corrupt voting process there is absolutely no hope. We are kidding ourselves if we think we still have a democracy because we lost that when George Bush was appointed in 2000.
The Republicans will do anything to hold onto that power and I mean anything. I believe there was and still is a Mafia style control over those who can stop this madness but for their personal and perhaps their family's safety they choose to remain quiet.

www.alternet.org/story/14399

[ecoalex]

25. With the DLC , yes we're sunk

Hillary, Dumpjoe, Bidet,Dodo, the DLc is what ruins America. WTG DLC.

Thanks alot DLC , I know the corps do.

[Redstone]

24. So give up. Take a break, worry ONLY about yourself and your

family, and charge back into the fight with fresh batteries whenever you're ready.

Seriously. You can let other people save the world for a little while. There's no shame in getting some rest.

Redstone

[Democrat 4 Ever]

30. One tiny little glimmer of light is a sea of despair

I'm like you, fed up, wore out, disgusted, disappointed, scared, and burned out thinking this country can right itself from the terrible times we find ourselves in right now. I swing from completely hopeless to thinking maybe, just maybe, the Dems will grow a spine and stand up to these thugs. Seems every time something hits the fan for Chucklenuts many of our Dem leaders reach over and turn the fan off so as not to make a mess. I want a down and dirty, no one left standing slug fest and I want it now.

That said, my tiny little glimmer of light. My youngest daughter (whom I love madly, dearly, completely) has married into a family of repugs. Staunch, dyed-in-the-wool GOP God, Guns and Gays, Faux watching repugs (disclaimer - I actually like and enjoy her in-laws as long as we don't talk politics). She is always quoting something the reichwing radio and TV has been spewing that week because that is all they watch. I can say something disputing her info and she will laugh in my face or practically call me a liar (not said but implied) because she had heard nothing like that on her news sources.

I know she does not generally read DU but I thought she would get a chuckle out of some of the Tahoe ads that we have played around with this week. I sent her the link to the main thread and waited to hear her howl in protest at our terrible ads or at least see the humor even if she didn't agree with what they said. Well, she liked the link. She thought they were very funny, imaginative and enjoyable. She watched them all. Several times. She even sent the link to several of her friends.

Now that little slice of light shining under my door? She has stayed around to read some of the other posts. It is too soon to see a complete about face but I have hope. She is finally, finally getting a little dose of news besides what is available on the right of the dial every day. She might not stay, she might not believe a word, she might even ignore what she reads but I have my glimmer of hope today. One silly thread of inane fun caught her attention and she stayed - at least temporarily - to read some of our other info. Hope she stays long enough to really learn. My fingers are crossed.

[Redstone]

36. Good for you (and your daughter). Hang on to that glimmer of light.

Redstone

[nonconformist]

33. You are absolutely correct.

Now I just need to figure out how to do that. It's so hard for me to totally distract myself for any meaningful length of time.

[YouthInAsia]

26. Its time for a revolution. n/t

[Cobalt Violet]

28. I with you.

I share your fustration. It's very discouraging. :hug:


And I'm listening to our Co-president Fox on C-span right now. He doesn't give a shit about his workers why should he give a shit about ours. Bush is a traitor.

[kineneb]

29. knitting while waiting for the Revolution

I'm getting a lot of spinning and knitting done as therapy. It keeps me from screaming about our personal situation and the world situation. I should call myself Madame DeFarge.

(still having visions of the DeFarge-like character in History of the World, Pt. 1...keeping the pointy ends away from bustline...)

Hang in there

[meganmonkey]

32. Don't give up

we just have to recognize that the established system by which we are supposed to use our power (that is, the people's power) is totally broken. So we need to stop expecting solutions through those systems.

[ladjf]

38. I've read all of the posts in this stream. It's a collection of

sad and poignant poetry. Somehow in the loving spirits of millions of Americans that feel the same way, there has got to be an underlying power that will ultimately prevail. I do believe that the current group of criminals will be kicked out, maybe even incarcerated. But, I fear that before that happens, so many things, both social and physical, will have been destroyed that a total revival might never be possible.

[helderheid]

39. I am with you but let me tell you what helped.

Honestly, this outpouring of love to Helen Thomas helped me. Please - don't get bogged down with the negative - when it gets to you, change the station and focus on letting those you consider a hero know they are your hero. This is what saved me.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

40. Here's a piece written by...

...Doris Haddock (Granny D) which I sometimes reread to help me recapture perspective. I find her inspiring. Hope it helps. There is no good alternative to fighting the good fight. None. Good luck to you and your family.

<snip>
My advice to the activist is to look at the work of groups like City Repair of Portland, and of ACORN, and other groups that work to make everyday life more joyful for our people. Get involved with them. There are simply not enough of us to effect dramatic political change as things stand today, so we must labor happily in these vineyards until we are enough. And we must open the eyes and minds of our neighbors. Just as the religious groups go door-to-door with their pamphlets, so must we, with pamphlets that fill in the gaps of information about our government, our environment, and our situation in America and around the world. These activities--working with people who need help and spreading the truth--must be joined, and our political work will come easier.

Let us string lights in the trees and bring out tables of food. Let us buy the things we need from the workers here who need the work. Let us invite the musicians and the artists and the academics to do their part. Let us do, in short, what we would do if the present order fell to feathers with all its mortgages and credit cards. It will do just that if we so elect, and this is the election that matters. The things we dislike in the present order are sustained only by our fearful complicity.

Look at me: I am still alive, and I am looking at you, and you are alive. This is our world as much as anyone else's. We who are old enough or wise enough to see the edges of life can understand that we have a choice between fear and joy, and between victimization and service. All elections and other indications to the contrary, happy days are here again when we but say they are. We do not turn our hearts away from injustice or suffering, indeed we mend them as best we can with our joyful engagement and our courageous non-cooperation with the forces of fear and death. And no one can take away our joy, for even our suffering for justice and brotherhood is joyful.

This is our Velvet Revolution, American style. We resist what we must and what we can, but our victory is not in defense, but in a cultural offensive made irresistible by the power of love and courage, pulling our people together, and our own lives together, over time.


http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0117-31.htm

[nonconformist]

43. Thanks for that article

I've bookmarked it.

[LSK]

45. can you wait till after November ?

We need you.