It's Time to Get Loud Now

It's June, so it's baseball season.  I'm not as much of a baseball fan as I am of football, especially at the college level.  On a nice day, I might enjoy an afternoon of baseball at Wrigley, which has a decent atmosphere most of the time. But it's harder to get a crowd riled up at a baseball park.  At a competitive college football game, however, its much different.  At an exciting moment, a third down play in a close game, the message board says, "Let's get loud" and everyone stands up and yells.  In some stadiums, like Notre Dame, the message board doesn't have to say anything and the roar will be deafening.  

For Democrats, it's time to get loud, not like at a baseball game, which is the way we usually do it, then quit when the music stops.  We need a much bigger, louder roar, in unison, to get the team motivated.  

What's at Stake? 

"We are standing on the precipice of losing our democracy."

That's what's at stake, according to Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose opinion I respect and whose evaluation of the situation I completely trust.  I fully agree with that statement and it has prompted me to become involved in as many ways as I can, including here.   

"Look, the most important thing is to win the next election.  The alternative is so frightening that whatever does not help you win should not be a priority, she said, taken from a quote in an article in The Financial Times.  I'd put up a link but there's a paywall.  

Clinton's response was to a statement by her interviewer who said that Democrats seem to be going out of their way to lose elections by elevating activist causes which are relevant only to a small minority.  My response to the same statement is that those activist causes will be lost, along with everything else, and there will be no coming back if Democrats don't keep this Congressional majority, gain a couple of senate seats and pick off some state houses.  And we better be figuring out exactly how that is going to happen, because it is mid-June and primary season.  

What are the priorities?  There's a lot on which to put the focus but the party seems to be drifting here.  There's January 6th, that's a big one, there's the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, also a big one, and there's the gun control issue where a trickle of progress should indicate the power behind this political issue.  There's the war in Ukraine which, predictably, is fading out of the news cycle.  

It's time to get loud.  That's the motivation.  Democratic party leaders, get in the huddle and get the play sorted out to win the game.  Sorry for the sports analogy but it works.  

Those Who Do Not Learn From History are Doomed to Repeat it

The history of this country is one of learning from its mistakes and aspiring to improve. As a society and culture, America moved from a near-feudal servitude and colonialism to independence, democracy and abolishing slavery in about 200 years, which is a remarkably short period of time under the circumstances.  The initial concept of "religious liberty" was freedom for the adherents of the predominant faith group in a colony, but persecution for those of different denominations or who did not practice Christian faith.  But the constitutional version, influenced by some of those persecuted minority faith groups, was more of an enlightenment principle and doesn't contain a hint of the idea that Christianity is more favored by government than other religious groups. 

But we are moving backward here.

I believe that the GOP is headed in the same direction it has been going since the Reagan era, and that is toward an America controlled by the "one percenters" who are almost universally powerful because of their wealth.  In order to achieve this measure of control, they have had to build an odd, contradictory alliance with far right wing Christianity, by enticing their support through a social agenda that they could care less about, but which is useful in helping them subvert democratic government which is the only obstacle to their ability to pile up wealth by sucking it out of society.  

Gas prices are high because one percenters are profiteering from it, and using it to achieve their political goals.  Yes, I'm saying it.  Show me evidence of another reason for this.  Look at the profits oil companies are piling up.  If the GOP gets back in power, you'll pay $7.00 or more for a gallon of gasoline.  

So anyone who voted for Biden, and against Trump in 2020, needs to give full consideration to voting in 2022 and supporting the Democratic candidates on the ballot.  The message board is flashing "Get Loud!"  Get on social media, start a blog, post things on twitter, do whatever you can.  Contribute.  Go help register voters.  Make sure you vote, because we are standing on the precipice of losing our democracy.