Advice To Democrats

I had another encounter with a Hillary voter last night. I assumed it was a Hillary voter since they are the only ones I know who scream RUSSIA! and call me a Russian troll. I would assume it was a Hillary voter because of their belief that anyone who disagreed with them must either be an ignorant Trump-supporting deplorable or a Putin puppet (they have been amazingly consistent). Mostly I identify someone as a Hillary supporter if they remind me of an over-caffeinated Chicken Little experiencing the D.T.s (Delirium Tremens or Donald Trumps, take your pick).

I understand their anxiety: I’ve been experiencing it for the past 25 years. Because unlike them, I’ve seen this day coming for 25 years, whereas it seemed to have totally blindside them. Now, when you get blindsided by something you never see coming, there are two ways to react: 1) self-reflection, which can lead to questioning why it was you were so unaware in order to avoid a similar situation in the future or 2) spastic overreaction wherein you take no personal responsibility and find others to blame the situation on. I will forego my personal opinion of which path Democrats chose to take.

And I get their distress, I really do. I grieve for the planet, am frightened of rising temperatures and environmental devastation. I want to live in a world where the suffering are aided and I truly believe the government has a role in helping people.

What I don’t understand is their solution. Perhaps it is because I saw so clearly the trajectory we were on while they were lulled to sleep by the well-spoken words of our previous president. The veil fell from my eyes back in 1992 when I voted for the lesser of two evils (Bill Clinton) and watched carefully his actions in the White House. I judged him on his own merits rather than on the merits of his detractors, as most Democrats did. I realized that in some fights there is no good guy and when no one is looking out for your interests it’s foolish to join the fight because you’re going to get beat up and then thrown under the bus.

I watched as Bill Clinton signed NAFTA, a deal that helped neither the Mexican nor the American workers but helped corporations a great deal. I watched as Bill Clinton expanded NATO and led it into its first offensive actions, which was a line that never should have been crossed.

I watched as Barack Obama bailed out banks and corporations without asking anything of them in return. I watched as his administration overthrew the government in Libya and left it a breeding ground for terrorists and slave trading.

I saw oh so much more done by the Democrats, things so many voters were willing to overlook because they feared the Republicans more. And while I see the temptation of voting for the lesser of two evils, I knew it wouldn’t in the end lead to progress but instead drag the dividing line between the two sides further from where I wanted it to go. Because sometimes in a fight neither side cares about you. Or the truth. Or the planet. I understand the argument for making incremental steps, but not when they are taken in the wrong direction. I cannot help but see beyond the subtle differences in order to see the greater similarities, cannot help but feel that the Democrats and Republicans are but two ends of the same vehicle: where the front goes, the rear soon follows.

So if you are a Democrat, let me ask you some questions and indulge me while I imagine your answers. I assure you that I draw upon a wealth of discussion in predicting responses:

Me: The question is, is what the Democrats are offering acceptable?

You: But Donald Trump.

Me: Yes, but is perpetual war acceptable?

You: But Trump.

Me: Yes, but do the Democrats have an answer to global warming?

You: Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate.

Me: And what did President Obama do for the environment in eight years? He was even fine with DAPL until the cries of the ordinary people became too loud.

You: But…

Me: What did Bill Clinton do to combat global warming?

You: But…

Me: What did Hillary say she was going to do to combat global warming?

You: Russia.

Me: What?

You: Russia Russia Russia!

And so it has gone. A hatred of Trump has been used to divert all your energies and attention away from the issues you care most about and which you could be fighting for. All those barriers to real participatory democracy we could be tearing down—the electoral college, gerrymandering, Citizens United, ownership of the media by a few wealthy oligarchs, etc.—we have ignored. And the media has been happy to help us ignore it. They, along with the Democrats who don’t really want to change anything, are happy to find other subjects to amuse you, like how it wasn’t their fault and how bad Trump is. I won’t disagree with the latter.

So let me give you a little tough love. Remember, no matter how tempting it might be to believe it, I am neither a Trump supporter nor a Russian bot or troll. I can’t say for sure if I’m a useful idiot or not, because if I was I wouldn’t be aware of it. But lay not the flattering unction upon your soul, to paraphrase Hamlet, that the flaw lies within me. At least consider the possibility that someone other than the corporate media pundits and anonymous intelligence agents have something useful to share with you. I truly believe I am on your side more than they are.

Here is my advice for those who voted for Hillary and want to combat the Trump phenomenon: don’t trust the corporate media and the intelligence agencies. Don’t look to them to lead you out of this dark time we are living in. Because they, perhaps more than anything, are responsible for the situation we now find ourselves. It is they who are calling the shots and it is they, more than anyone else, that are responsible for Donald Trump. The media has made a hero of Trump for decades and the government has never bothered to go after Trump for the myriad shady deals he’s been a part of for at least as long. Ask yourself why that is and it will go a long way towards enlightening you to the reality that Trump is the symptom and not the disease.