Anyone else not in a celebratory mood?

USA! USA! USA!

It never ends.

And America has been through much worse in its history. See the light.

the damn nonsense in this country. So, I'm happy for Obama, happy for what has been accomplished, but from a celebratory mood perspective I surely don't feel like shouting - USA! USA! USA! ... because I think this country is failing in many many areas, mostly created by the absolute asses that have assembled under the republican tent that IMO are domestic terrorists.

That is where I'm at too.

Take a look at this excellent DU post and thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022223317

We are certainly in a better position than if McCain or Rmoney had been elected --- but let's face it, the problems we face are just tremendous ... the government is broken (Citizens United; filibuster; gerrymandering, etc.), the economy is not just in a cyclical downturn, but in a secular spiral of debt and resource depletion; the culture is degraded (incivility, gun extremism, bigotry, etc.), and we face an environmental and climate crisis that we have really not even begun to address seriously.

So, yup, congratulations to Obama and Biden and a pat on the back to the majority of American voters who had the good sense to reelect them.

But we are in trouble and we should also take this moment to reflect on the seriousness of the predicament we are in and what it will take to get out of it.

especially the last paragraph. "I worked in the DOL for 24 years and could see what was coming. I am really puzzled at why the American worker embraced all of this mayhem. Now the next generation seems to be doomed to a life of low wages and virtual poverty."

I've been really puzzled too at why the American worker embraced all of this mayhem ... it's almost as if they feel they deserve oppression. It's weird ... people should be embracing change for the better, but yet they often vote for those that will oppress them most, be it jobs, healthcare, civil rights, whatever, many opt for and embrace oppression and persecution. And religion has become strange, many seemingly wanting oppression, persecution and some type of theocratic dystopia.

And you aptly summed up other areas of grave concern, this bizarre mixture of incivility, gun extremism, bigotry, etc.

I look toward the future with trepidation, but yet at the same time am extremely happy we have Obama and Biden.

with the increasing potential for storms, drought and food shortages.

in government today that is most troubling. "We the people" (here/there) are on the low rung of the ladder. MIC = big $$$$$ = power and control. Much as Eisenhower warned ... and has been ignored.

For me, Obama's second term simply means a slower decline, not actually progress.

We're still in Afghanistan, and will be for another eleven years minimum.
Our civil liberties are still disappearing at an alarming rate.
Obama still has his own personal kill list.
We're opening up another, larger front in this endless War on Terra, namely Africa.
The economy still sucks.
The climate emergency, while finally being acknowledged, is looming over us and nothing meaningful is being done.
Drones, drones, drones.
We're still dealing with a Democratic administration that is just a bit to the right of Ike.
The attack on public education rages on, with this administration continuing to lead the charge.
The influence of corporations and the elite are still what determines what our government does, not we the people.

I could continue, but it just gets depressing.

You said it.

like picture perfect and that you are utterly and completely clueless that you're engaging in this makes it even better.

thank you for the example. I'm bookmarking it.

i feel the same way about the OP. Maybe I'm clueless too. I'm willing to be clued in, explain how this feeling is the result of abnormal psychology?

how it's fine for people to celebrate the inauguration and then essentially trashing them for doing it.
I'm not even going to get into how I feel. It's not relevant.

If you're happy with where we're headed, good for you. I envy your complacency.

I'll take that as a compliment.

but it ain't.

Quinnox is quite careful never to be happy about much.

But, quinnox, many folks put aside their doubts and fears and voted to help make things better through political action. there's a great amount of hope and optimism behind those votes for Barack Obama. We don't erase all of those very real and prescient concerns with our celebration of one of the most prominent products of our democracy; we seek to enhance their ultimate resolution in a political process which begins with this inauguration.

This day (and tomorrow) is about US; more than it is about Barack Obama or any political party. Our votes are the instruments of our collective conscience and our warrant to the realization of our freedom, our liberty, and our well-being. This is a beginning point for our activism and action and we will be celebrating (and marveling at) our nation's citizen's determination to implement change through our elected representatives; through our elected president.

This event should be heralded in as an auspicious manner as we can manage. WE are to be celebrated for our exercise of our democracy tomorrow. I am SO in the mood for that!

Very well said. A keeper.

and they are already showing up here.

but too bad, so sad! It's a wonderful day for the most of us here at DU!

pissing in our corn flakes ain't working! try harder!

If we are actually moving, albeit one tiny step at a time, in the right direction, there is plenty to celebrate. Because since Reagan this country has moved in the wrong direction in spite of Clinton. Bush's election marked the real rush to extinction for us. We went into life support but now we're gaining our strength again.

Moving in the right direction that is.

Read Richard Heinberg's book 'The End of Growth' ... we need a genuine change in direction. Sad to say but the establishment government and economy are still committed to the notion that what we are presently enduring is just a worse and longer than usual part of the normal business cycle. But it is not --- this is systemic and secular.

Despite what the government statistics may say about the economy, the truth is that wages are stagnant; food prices are going up; taxes i.e., FICA have gone up (and in many localities taxes are up a lot); and there is a lot of pressure to raise the retirement age or cut Medicare or cut Social Security. In other words, the middle class is getting smaller and is under enormous financial stain and there isn't really much relief on the horizon.

I'm glad Barack Obama was sworn-in for a second term today, but I am not a pollyanna about our future.

And the kind of change that's needed in order to go in a new direction, which I agree with is going to be an even slower process.

If we start taking global warming seriously we will have to go in a different direction.

... as I do, then, yes, perceiving the glass half full is pollyanna-ish.

I guess that's to be expected of a purist.

then claim to be insulted. Nice.

There is a trmendous amount of inertia.

Instead of constantly complaining about the turd, at least take a moment to appreciate the corn kernels in it.

Instead of constantly complaining about the turd, at least take a moment to appreciate the corn kernels in it.

Disgusting and completely apt at the same time! Not that those in most need of "appreciating the kernels" will be bothered to do so. I think it would take much too much energy to go from a state of constant misery to even a minutes' worth of appreciation for the joys, hardship and beauty of life.

I love your posts.

when you think of the alternative of who could be speaking tomorrow, the feeling of "whew!" is strong.

As far as the era of progressive policies, that will begin 2017 at the earliest, and it will require that we elect a progressive president. A long shot maybe, but that's what it will take.

And the fact the odds are so long for a progressive president says volumes about the state of this nation.

at the local level, making sure we both have strong elected officials, and that states enact progressive legislation that serves as a model for the nation. Interestingly enough, 2017 should be when the ACA waivers start. Maybe we can get a couple more states in addition to Vermont to go single-payer by then.

likely be 2020 before anything meaningful can or will be done.

And even then our best chance to actually get usable majorities start with winning Govenorships to stop the gerrymandering first.

The 2010 election screwed this country for at least a decade.

before the Democrats can take back the house, but that doesn't mean that nothing meaningful can be done over the next 7 years. If you live in a state that's heavily gerrymandered it's important to try to build up local organizations to move against that. If not, it's important to get a strong progressive organization in place to push progressive leaders onto the national stage and also to pass local progressive legislation that can serve as an example for the rest of the country.

I hear ya.

good to see you.

in agreement or not.

none of this national politics shit has any appeal for me.

i have to go to work tomorrow so i can pay my tax bills and shit.

and partially responsible for creating jobs/making sure the ones people have can keep having them.

we don't create many jobs, but the guys who work for us are happy to have them.

not everyone who creates jobs is a multi-billionaire.

and yeah, we're actually a union shop.

Why go to either extreme? Get on with your life. The world will continue with or without your celebration/depression.

a perfectly good opportunity to haz a sad go to waste?

Closing out President Obama's first term - we've come a long way
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022223211

President Obama puts his stamp on global development (foreign policy isn't war
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022223604

Forward!

Obama can't control corporate greed and the sociopaths. Everywhere you look the US is committing suicide. In-debt the youth with college loans for jobs that won't be there ...throw away those over 50 yo ...export the few remaining good jobs ...play world big gun war games instead of caring for our own ...this country was much better than that but now it is all over ...no going back to being decent people who are represented by their government. This country is a facade of democracy under corporate rule with politics playing good cop bad cop and people think their vote really makes a difference ....pffft.

I would feel pretty shitty if Romney were up there...
You?

Go figure.

eom

time for celebration. We're moving again, slowly, but we're moving. I expect more movement over the next four years. More states will enact laws that let our LGBT friends marry as they choose. We will end our combat involvement in Afghanistan, and all those combat troops will come home. The economy will continue to improve. The rest of the ACA will take effect.

We're likely to make some movement on the whole firearms issue. And there's lots more that can get done, especially if we step up and make sure President Obama has a House of Representatives that will send him bills he can sign enthusiastically.

Will the USA become a progressive nation? Probably not. Lots more education is needed for that to happen. We're still deeply divided here, and that has to be fixed before a progressive United States becomes a reality. Probably it won't happen in my lifetime.

You're in a bad mood? Imagine your mood had Mitt Romney won the election. That didn't happen.

Want to feel better? Start working today on the 2014 Congressional elections. That's what I'm doing.

I think that is one of the best posts I have read from you in an answer to me.

Sorry, there is no "instant gratification" in political positive change.

O Captain, my captain....

making phone calls to get out the vote to re elect our president.

i'm celebrating his reelection and the great victory for every single one of the individuals who got out the vote and who stood in line for hours to make it happen. each vote for pour president's re-election is a victory to celebrate.

i am also celebrating those who came beore us who worked, sacrificed and died to make the election happen. when i was born, women did not have the right to vote...much less a black woman or a black man.

Four years ago, I wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate, mainly because George W. Bush was walking out of the White House scot free. He would never have to answer for his crimes against the nation, and thanks to an unwise deal by Nancy Pelosi, he never even faced impeachment. I was really down the night before Inauguration Day.

But ChickMagic - Ginny, my wife - was the optimistic one. We were getting the first-ever American President who had any African-American blood, and she thought that was definitely worth taking the day off to celebrate. She even bought champagne for the occasion. So we stayed home that day, fussed over who was going to get the nice champagne flutes out of the overhead kitchen drawer, poured a couple of glasses, cuddled up with the cats, and watch with pride as Obama took the public oath of office to become our 44th President.

That was four years ago.

Now, I have no Ginny. No Axl. No Banjo. Nobody. They're all gone.

This weekend has proven to be very difficult for me, and I only now realized why this is. Yesterday, I visited Ginny's grave and bawled. I just felt compelled to visit her, wasn't exactly sure why. I just needed to. But now I understand. And I'm still crying and wishing it was still four years ago, back when I still had a family that loved me and cared about me and pulled me out of my funk to celebrate Obama's first inauguration.

So if you've got someone you love, when you watch the public inauguration tomorrow, I want you to hold onto them for dear life. Your hopes for progressive change and transformation are because your loved ones matter. They're the only thing that matters. So hold onto them, love them, treasure them. They are your heart.

your grief. been there. yes, hug the ones we love. they are our heart.

Those in mourning exit right.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW FUCKED WE WOULD BE IF CRIMINAL ROMNEY HAD BEEN ELECTED?

Maybe you are too comfortable to care. I'll call the waaaaambulance for you.

I don't see any big changes coming. I think we will maintain the status quo but at least we won't slide backward. A republican would have been a disaster.

You are entitled to feel the way you feel and I'm not usually all that argumentative. That said, for most Democrats this is a real special time. A Democratic president has won re-election with a solid majority. That alone would be reason to celebrate, but can we reflect for just a minute on the fact that this is the first African American president we've had. JFK was the only deviation from the long parade of WASPs and that was in 1960. Anyway, our very first AA president has been a sufficient success that he has been re-elected and reaffirmed by a solid majority of the nation. That is the right direction and I think it's important. But OK, perhaps that is not your view. Fair enough. But why do you need to start a thread this weekend just to piss in the happy peoples' cornflakes? I mean, it couldn't wait until Tuesday? Not questioning your right to do so. I'm really just wondering what motivates this kind of thing.

When I think about what is not likely to happen in this political climate, I am jubilant that no man other than President Obama is leading us through it.

This country is not ready for the kinds of things I'm ready for, but leaders like President Obama are assembling it piece by piece. Right now, I'm just going to enjoy the ride.

There's just no mental room to fret over every policy. This is a big, complicated world that requires gray solutions for problems that seem black and white. I'm fine with that. I can bend my principles when needed. It's really not that big of a deal.

but things are so fucked up in my state and local government that I can't get myself excited either.

And sorry you're not. Hope something about the day brings you 'round to feel more upbeat.

No need for shouting "USA" or anything else, but it's a real good day just the same. Really.

This is one of them. It's mostly ceremonial, and contains far more great quotes than substance, but it's a day when we celebrate the leader of our party and the hard work all of us did getting him elected.

Enjoy this day; there will be over 1,300 others spent doing the hard work of getting our agenda installed.

Thank you for your concern

etc.

I guess the real difference is that it seems like the election really didn't change anything. There wasn't even a day off from the insanity of the right wing and their intent to block as much as possible from the election until now. And it's just going to continue. We need jobs and they don't care. We need improved services and they want to cut them. We need growth and they want austerity. And they always seem to get their way and we never get ours.

It's depressing rather than festive.

Unfortunately, they are hateful, ugly people among who I have to live.

I'm not happy about a lot of things that have been done. My positions haven't changed now that it's a Democrat doing them.

More status quo than anything.

There are many things to celebrate today..

1) Obama not Romney
2) Big money did not buy the WH
3) GOP cheating by did not steal the WH
4) RW media deception did not win the WH
5) There is hope for a better country with 4 more years of President Obama

Its worth celebrating.