04-20-2022, 08:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-20-2022, 08:57 PM by Eric the Green.)
And we especially need it this year. Share please.
What I have experienced these last 41 years has been depressing. We have lived in a declining society, with declining confidence in our society and its institutions. And as I diagnose this, it comes down to one fact. Once a Democratic president is elected, at the next midterm too many people withdraw for him. Then a Republican is installed by the Supreme Court and/or the electoral college. So we have years and years at a time without any progress. From 1994 to 2008, we had no progress, and from 2010 to 2020, again, no progress. At all other times, the country regressed. All progress was blocked.
There are other things besides politics and government that affect our nation. But it is a critical factor. Without it, the rich and powerful rule without restraint, and prejudice of various kinds grows.
So now, we seem about to rinse and repeat. Once again we seem on the verge of not supporting a Democratic president once elected, and allowing the powerful few to block all initiatives to help our society be available and open to others besides the rich and powerful and the prejudiced.
Obama's speech is a lesson in civics, and we need it. Just criticizing the messenger is a neat way to avoid the lesson.
What I have experienced these last 41 years has been depressing. We have lived in a declining society, with declining confidence in our society and its institutions. And as I diagnose this, it comes down to one fact. Once a Democratic president is elected, at the next midterm too many people withdraw for him. Then a Republican is installed by the Supreme Court and/or the electoral college. So we have years and years at a time without any progress. From 1994 to 2008, we had no progress, and from 2010 to 2020, again, no progress. At all other times, the country regressed. All progress was blocked.
There are other things besides politics and government that affect our nation. But it is a critical factor. Without it, the rich and powerful rule without restraint, and prejudice of various kinds grows.
So now, we seem about to rinse and repeat. Once again we seem on the verge of not supporting a Democratic president once elected, and allowing the powerful few to block all initiatives to help our society be available and open to others besides the rich and powerful and the prejudiced.
Obama's speech is a lesson in civics, and we need it. Just criticizing the messenger is a neat way to avoid the lesson.