Let's slow down and breathe.

[Big Blue Marble]

We are starting to come out the shock and move into the stages of grief now. Remember denial, anger, depression, and bargaining. It is clear some of us are in different stages. Some of us are shut down and depressed. Others are reacting with anger. Most of us are cycling through all these emotions. Those like Walt Starr are ready to bargain away our basic tenant of civil rights to stem the tide of the RW. Since bargaining is a short term way of dealing with loss, I hope that he and those who support him will soon come to their senses. It is insane to project our anger on our own. The rise of the reptilian brain lurks in dark corners of DU.

Look to 1964 when the repugs were shut out of power as we are now, they did not say oh lets amputate our values to align ourselves with the liberals. They reaffirmed their values and reorganized for the long term. Yes we must prepare for short term battles for the next elections to stem the tide if we can. But the energy of our vision must be longer. The conservatives of the sixties understood that patience was on their side. It took four election cycles for their first real victory with Reagan. Dems have fallen into the trap each four years we have been out of power either in the Congress of the Presidency. Just wait four years and the country will come to its senses. It did not work with Reagan/Mondale and it did not work this time. We need long term plans. We need strength of spirit. We may be wandering in the desert for many years. Most importantly we need to stick together. We have this treasure that the cons did not have our cyber connections. (Imagine going through this grief without out it.)

I hope that tearing at our own flesh will not be part of our short term or long term plan. Selling out our own will not take us to the promised land. The support of gay people now is the same support we gave to the blacks in their struggle, What do we stand for if not for all protections under the law for everyone> And that law is our constitution. The one that many Americans have died to protect.
As for abortion rights, get this. The attack on women’s right to abortion is an attack on women’s rights. Scratch an anti-abortionist and you will find an anti-birth control fanatic. Give up on abortion rights and they will move to anti-contraception. And they will not stop until women are back in their ninth teen century place. Please, if we were fighting the Taliban would agree to part of their agenda so we could feel a little bit safer? Because that is what WS and others are suggesting.

[Big Blue Marble]

1. Continued:

Because we are deep in our grief two days after what for many of us is one of the greatest losses of our lifetime, we must honor our grief in all its stages. It is too soon to make decisions. We are swirling in our emotions. Give us a couple of weeks to regain our equilibrium.
We have been knocked back as never before. Then let’s start to strategize for our long term success.