In the past few days I've written a pro-flogging editorial for the paper and an anti-Obama rant for Facebook. Mostly I'm just bored (not a good thing for me) and want to press some buttons, but it would be great if folks could actually discuss important issues again. We no longer debate, we merely take stands and shout. Nobody listens. Nobody alters their position in any way. Very sad. I blame the Left, as I do for pretty much everything.
During Vietnam I belonged to a very political family, with my mother Harriet chairperson of the 13th Ward DFL and part of Eugene McCarthy's inner circle. My relatives on Mom's side were also anti-war, not so much on the Lykken side, outside of my Aunt Tommie. What we Lefties learned during this period was that our arguments seemed to be having an effect. Seemed like every day somebody famous came out against the war, or a friend, or even my Dad at one point. I was in attendance when Senator Mondale came out, and when Governor Wendy Anderson admitted he was against the war in Vietnam. I will never forget when redneck Paul K. from Washburn showed up at an anti-war rally downtown. All attendees had been excused from classes that day (!) and Paul had told me he was pretending to go and would just head on home, but there he was. Marching. Wow. So, in the end, WE won. We convinced the country to come over to our position. Weren't we cool.
Now, some forty years later, I spend much time mocking people I knew as "establishment" back in the day, who now drive Green cars, attend Farmer's Markets, and refuse to patronize Target. Yes, yes, yes, these are wonderful people, respectful of each other and the planet, and the world would be a better place if we had more of them in it. I would probably kill myself, but still. One problem I have with the current Left is that they have no Pinko Bona Fides. If they weren't actually marching in the streets during the 70's, they are nothing but posers. I am a total Pinko snob. If you didn't run with my crowd, you probably voted for some sort of Humphrey during your life, and are therefore permanently disqualified from Left Wing Coolness. So there.
My biggest problem with the current Left is that they STILL believe that if they shout their arguments loud enough, the great unwashed Palin-loving Other will eventually come around. That's what happened with Vietnam. Sadly, Obama's election reinforced their delusion, that whichever side debates the best will win the day. They will not. Whichever side gets the vote out the best will win, as it always has been.
In today's political scene, the Left still blabs on and on about nothing. If there was any substance to our position, we would have to publicly disagree with our black president, and that is simply not going to happen. Ever. We still blame George Bush for everything, even though it is 2 and 1/2 years later. The Right knows instinctively that they are too stupid to win a real debate, so they resort to throwing stones and Fox news. Politics just isn't fun anymore. Obama had a shot at being great, we were all ready to follow, but he was too fucking weak to lead.
Funny, whenever I attack Obama, not a single one of my Leftist friends ever responds. I had such high hopes for the man. He is behaving as if, on the day he took office, some men in black suits came into the Oval and informed him that Michelle and the kids would die if he did not do EXACTLY what they wanted, when they wanted. Hence our 2 and 1/2 continuing wars. Makes one wonder ...
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