A revolutionary act

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."--George Orwell

Like many Liberals, I've been doing a lot of soul searching since Hitler got elected.  I'm fifty-seven years old, and though I'm in good health, I know that I've lived a lot more of my life than I have left to live.  Chances are good that in the next 20 to 30 years (if I should be so lucky) I'm going to say my goodbyes to this earth and if my fortune really holds, that my three kids will be able to get together at some point after my death and dump my ashes into the Pacific Ocean (seems like a hell of a final resting place).  As such, I've spent a lot of time these past ten days or so looking at the three to four hundred books in our spare bedroom that I've yet to read, the hundred or so TV shows that I've got recorded on the DVR (not to mention the entire Sopranos series I have on DVD) and have yet to watch, and the fifty or so movies that I either have also recorded on the DVR or been fortunate enough to receive as gift DVDs that I haven't seen yet as well, and have been wondering to myself, if not now, when?  Not to mention that I love sports and I couldn't begin to tell you when was the last time I just sat down to watch a game and wasn't trying to read some political piece or blog or working on this blog as I watched.

And then there's the reality of our political landscape right now--the republican party is the strongest political party in the history of the United States right now.  They control all three branches of the federal government, and an overwhelming majority of the state governments.  In all likelihood, my ashes will be floating in the Pacific before we see a Liberal majority on the Supreme Court again.  Voter suppression is going to get worse--a lot worse.  It took a generation to undo Reagan's assault on the economic well being of the poor, the working class, and the middle class (and we're still not close to being done) and it will probably take a generation to fix the utter economic catastrophe that Trump, Pence, Ryan, and McConnell are going to foist upon us.

And you can forget about getting any help from the utterly useless national media.  They've already begun normalizing the election of a neo-Nazi, misogynistic, bigoted sexual predator whose designs on the Presidency are beginning to appear to be little more than a way to bolster his business's bottom line.

And the loyal opposition, the Democratic Party?  Two words:  Chuck Schumer.  About the only thing he'll be good for is helping the party play dead until the next economic catastrophe sweeps us into power (see also Clinton, Bill 1992 and Obama, Barack 2008).

So I've been wondering if the 25-30 hours I spend a week reading about politics, writing congressman, signing petitions, and writing this blog wouldn't be better spent during my golden years catching up on everything I've missed the last twenty years or so (at least since the bogus impeachment of Bill Clinton in the 1990's).

And over the last day or two it's dawned on me (and here you can picture me banging my head against the desk my computer sits atop) that I have absolutely no idea how to stop fighting for political beliefs I've had since I was sixteen years old.  I just don't know how.  And the world will be no worse a place if I don't read every Ian McEwan or Cormac McCarthy novel, or see every episode of The Sopranos or Breaking Bad, or ever get to view All About Eve or The Descendants.  But the world will be a much worse place if I don't punch back as republicans try to run roughshod over everything that makes America great and I hold dear.

And scream.  Lots of screaming.

I will lose a lot more than I win.  I probably won't live long enough to see the worm turn.  Better that, though, than letting the bullies win without putting up a fight.

A revolutionary act a day keeps the fascists away...

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee