Disillusioned and Disappointed as I reach 1000 posts

[FightingIrish]

After more than six years of uncharacteristic activism I find myself sitting silently on the sidelines again just shaking my head. I marched, I protested and took very public stands that cost me clients and friends and even estranged some members of my family. Now the sheer absurdity of our national malaise seems to have overwhelmed me. I have lost my capacity for outrage and have the helpless feeling that I can no longer scream out loud. It wasn’t the two stolen elections or the insane war we could not stop. It wasn’t the parade of shocking revelations of our criminal conduct of that war that shames every American. It wasn’t the perversion of an inexplicable national tragedy that left me numb and speechless. It wasn't even the parade of fallen heroes that now scrolls by at a blurring pace. What has finally beaten me down is the realization that the congress we thought would save us stubbornly refuses to even seriously consider the only rational and legal solution to a problem that threatens us all and our future as a nation.

Many of the very representatives and senators now in office once thought impeachment was a fitting way to chastise a president who wasn’t forthcoming about the lurid details of his sexual transgressions. These same hypocrites now have no stomach for using the Constitution as it was intended. The plane is going down in flames but God forbid there be any mention of parachutes. These fools do not even offer a credible argument against impeachment other than to say this it just won’t happen. It is truly a dysfunctional democracy that denies itself the one available antidote to its systemic poisoning by a corrupt ideology and unchecked executive power.

I have heard very compelling reasons from people much brighter than I am, conservative and liberal alike, on why we cannot be content to just let the clock run out on the most destructive presidency in our history. Unfortunately these scholars are not the people we tasked last November with salvaging our republic. The duty of exercising the defense mechanism that our founding fathers built into our democracy falls to a group who simply cannot put country ahead of party or political ambition. All the feeble excuses our elected representatives offer for letting our decline continue are arrogantly telling the majority of the American people that somehow they know better or could care less.

As we approach the brink of another insane war under Dick Cheney’s puppet strings, I wonder if I have the will to get up and fight again. Until I see a congress that understands and acts on principle and the will of the American people, I’m afraid I may just watch.

[malta blue]

1. K&R

Very well said.

[dogman]

2. It seems like they're all in on it, doesn't it?

Where are the patriots?

[Cobalt-60]

41. It does at that

I'm disappointed.
But not completely surprised.
They has shown a remarkable lack of resistance since Junior got started.
To me that act as if they've been threatened, bought, or both.

[Branjor]

58. Yes....

The word that occurs to me is "lobotomized." They act as though they have all been lobotomized since Junior got in.

Maybe too many liberal leaders have simply been...killed.

[Frisbee]

80. Moyer's show last week...

I believe one of the guest on Bill Moyer's show on impeachment last week hit the nail on the head, there are no statesmen in Congress, only politicians who are more worried about the next election than the Constitution or the future of our democracy. What I really don't understand, is that I think defending the Constitution against *co would be a politically advantageous move at this point. I keep hoping someone (anyone) will step up, but I too am losing confidence.

[jhrobbins]

81. What was also remarkable about that show was that 'important'

conservatives are also now thinking impeachment - so it has moved out of the partisan arena somewhat.

[babylonsister]

3. Excellent writing there! I would hope you might send it to your reps, or

maybe Conyers. Maybe you can help by embarrassing them into doing the right thing.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Other perspectives are possible...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1336397&mesg_id=1336397

[proud2BlibKansan]

63. She needs to put it back on the table

A lot has happened since she made that statement. Of course, that point is not made in that post.

[closeupready]

84. I agree.

n/t

[InsultComicDog]

5. Take a break, you deserve it

This is still the "offseason"...

[MLFerrell]

49. This is not a fucking game.

There is no "off season".

[InsultComicDog]

83. Constant and perpetual activism

will wear a person down and that serves no one well.

[nolabels]

85. Take a break implies a resting for short while, so maybe take a vacation even

We are many and everyday they are fewer.

Some here have experienced the full spectrum of Nixon as adults and dare say there could be some that just woke up yesterday. A break for the flesh is a good thing, the spirit will never rest anyway :shrug:

[yardwork]

6. Don't give up.

We've come this far. Besides, what else can we do?

You were right all along. Don't give up now.

[The Straight Story]

7. Take a look at something (I feel the same in some ways)

Here is a video I made before the election.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-10_iPus9g

I still remember this banner at 4:14
"Bring the troops home NOW or face mutiny"

Here we are in July, and still there is no mutiny except the one at the polling places.

There is more in the video, but that still stands out to me.

[FightingIrish]

31. That's a beautiful video

I see we share some heroes.

[Highway61]

46. Thank you for the beautiful video

Well done :hug:

[EFerrari]

8. Congratulations, FightingIrish and thank you for being here at DU.

I can't tell you how much I relate to what you're saying. I'm so tired of trying to fight not only the felons in our government but also, the INERTIA of the people supposedly on our side.

Literally tired.

I've been taking a sort of "time out" while I handle that and have seen many opportunities go by. I regret those but know, there was nothing I could add.

This must be something like combat fatigue. In any case, thank you for being here, for caring and for fighting. :toast:

[FightingIrish]

32. Thank you for sharing your "combat fatigue"

I guess, like most of us, I have too much at stake to give up. I only wish that every step we take will mean something. Winning an election without bringing about the most necessary changes is disheartening but no reason to quit trying.

[EFerrari]

67. Imho, we seldom see how our one step matters and it's hard to see

it adding up because we live in the moment.

But that rock won't move unless we keep pushing, lol. :toast:

[Melissa G]

77. It always matters that we fight for what we believe in because

at least then, we know we have done all we could to make this insanity better. By fighting this craziness, it gives me something constructive to do with my anger that perhaps makes a difference. But whatever happens, it was not wasn't because my effort to improve the situation was missing.

At the end of the day our own behavior is all we can speak for. I believe, if enough of us take this attitude, bit by bit, we will change this mess for the better.
:toast:

[stevedeshazer]

9. They want you to give up.

Don't let them win.

NEVER GIVE UP.

Deal: I won't give up if you won't.

Okay?

[G_j]

17. but they don't want you to stop voting for them

actually they would prefer we just shut up and vote.

no deal

[Nite Owl]

10. Likewise here

I feel more and more unheard, like the tree falling with noone to hear it crash so did it ever make the sound.
What keeps me at this is I think this is what they want, they want us to give up, to crawl into some hole and shut up. Being silent is really being silenced, it's giving into the worse evil this generation has known. I think of my kids who will be here long after me and I still scream, maybe someone will hear but at the least we go down with a fight.

[bonito]

11. Good news

No one can change our hearts, not even ourselves once we have found the truth, as the say, take time to smell the roses. :grouphug:

[johncoby2]

12. Grow a set.

[Warren Stupidity]

15. Are you always that inspirational? nt

[marions ghost]

13. Yes it's bad

and we're seeing just exactly how bad. There are few protections for us. We must fight very very hard for the rights we always took for granted. This IS absurd. WHY are we doing this in America, land of the free & all that? Because we have a bunch of thieves at the helm, who hijacked this plane.

Eyes are open now. You just watch. You'll see some changes. Take a break from the trenches. Come back though.:grouphug:

[Warren Stupidity]

14. It doesn't look good, does it?

You know, when leadership fails, as it has, it is up to us idiots. I too am filled with despair and hopeless rage. But don't give up. Come join us one more time this september for another meaningless under-reported act of popular democracy in the streets. What the fuck, why not?

Maybe Pitt will give you a pony-snark.

[EFerrari]

16. It's not meaningless. It's a step toward critical mass.

Patience. And Oreos. :hug:

This is my 75 year old Mom marching in D.C. If she doesn't give up, I can't. :)

Edit: "Here is my space." A&C

[G_j]

18. what a great pic!

thanks for sharing! :applause:

[EFerrari]

20. My mom, my son and I are all phobic about flying.

Lol! Just getting there was a big deal. I love them to death. :)

[Warren Stupidity]

22. Ok so it is 'near meaningless' I misspoke.

But I will be there too. I also vote, which the economists tell me is irrational and which I know is even more meaningless than marching in the streets as even when we win we just get more of the same. I guess I am just into near-meaningless gestures.


Great pic. See you on the streets.

[EFerrari]

23. I go back and forth. Knowing how they manipulate us with theater

and with allowing us *our theater* to keep us quiet.

But, it does add up. They can't manipulate this outpouring entirely. All those grandmas, and moms pushing strollers and vets with walkers add up.

Keep the faith, my friend.

[pacalo]

19. I admire you for your dedication, Irish!

You've done a lot, but it's time to back away from it. Number one in life is to concern yourself with daily living & to be a happy, well-rounded person. There's good reason to be very attentive to politics under this corrupt, dangerously destructive administration, but please strive to see the goodness around you, too.

Since I began reading DU daily several years ago, I've seen a lot of death & illness affecting DUers. Stress can have a dramatic affect on the immune system. I hope that all here will step back when today's politics seem overwhelming.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

21. I was in your spot on November 2004. I am still kicking. YOU will keep kicking, too.

Take time out IF YOU NEED.

But, from experience, I must say this,...

Whenever I openly express a point of "giving up", it is ALWAYS when,...I won't give up but rather,...am just plain tired.

I figure,...you are just plain ole' tired and CAN'T give up.

Taking a rest isn't 'giving up'.

[FightingIrish]

33. Thanks for the words of encouragement

I think my frustration is not all that uncommon. We've all done so much or tried to do so much. Maybe after being treated with such contempt by the Bush administration, we take it a little more personally when our real elected leaders tell us to get over it. I'm not giving up. I just want our proxies in congress to know how betrayed I feel that they cavalierly ignore an unquestionable mandate for change.

[wiggs]

24. I hope you an take heart that there are a LOT of people out there who feel

as you do...simply, it is a natural, healthy reaction to an unbelievably bad situation. It would be odd to know what you know and not be outraged and frustrated.

Good advice from others...take a break. Come back and tell us your next ideas for activism and putting your writing talent to good use.

[Dammit Ann]

25. My sentiments exactly.

:banghead:

[G_j]

26. shouldn't we all have IMPEACH bumper stickers

and yard signs?

covert banner hangings, chip in for for billboards, local newspaper ads... etc. etc.

BTW, we have an IMPEACH BUSH billboard right downtown

[EFerrari]

27. Yes. That's exactly what we need to do, imo.

:)

[phildo]

28. Sounds like you have figured out that talking crap, but DUing nothing real is not

very effective or rewarding.

And only a thousand posts to discover it. :) :)

But seriously, what outcomes do you desire, FightingIrish?

[OwnedByFerrets]

29. K & R

[mike_c]

30. this is an awesome post--- well said!

Rec'd! :thumbsup:

[ClayZ]

34. We have all been Polytraumatized!

They are using that word to describe the many wounds, visible and unseen, that our troops have suffered. When I saw the word in another DU post, I thought of our entire population. Starting with the stolen election, it has been one thump to the psyche after another. Our congress must be also traumatized, however they ran for office.

If our troops can go fight in 130 degrees while the Iraqi government takes a vacation and mr bu$h takes a vacation, our congress can do what they SWORE to do, "Defend our Constitution".

I too have marched, signed petitions, written, called, read, studied, worried, cried, watched and am sickened by the whole state of our affairs.

These crooks should be run out of OUR WHITEHOUSE! They should be in prison. Our congress should lead the PARADE to do so!

We need to learn how to heal from all the trauma. Meanwhile the investigations continue and IMPEACHMENT is off the table.

Shame! It is a crying SHAME!

[bbgrunt]

37. I think that says it all--polytraumatized!!

[ananda]

54. My psyche is fine..

.. but my heart is sad and angry.

And I'm not exactly sure what to be sad and angry at.

Bushinc.
Congress.
Scotus.
Corporations.
The media.
Rightwing hate radio.
Rightwing judges.
Racists.
Sexists.
Homophobes.
Pharmaceutical companies.
The health care industry.
Fundamentalist Christians.
Dems and liberals who attack their own (like Cindy Sheehan).
Myself for allowing America to be taken over by the corporations
with a malignant crazed puppet named Bush at the helm.
The essential powerlessness of people against the rightwing
corporate juggernaut with leaders not subject to any containment
or rule of law.
The death of the Constitution.

Sue

[Jim Lane]

35. A suggested remedy for malaise

One possibility, as other responses have mentioned, is to just take a break.

An alternative is to apply Joe Hill's formula about picking your battles: "Big enough to matter, small enough to win." You can't end the war or change control of the White House tomorrow. You might consider taking a break from national politics and work for a while on something smaller and more local, where you have a better chance of seeing short-term progress.

Opposing the war is good work, but getting a new park in your hometown is also good work. I don't belittle the contributions of anyone who's volunteering time, energy, and money to make the world a better place. There's a lot to be done everywhere you look.

But, if you feel a need to just watch for a while, that might be right for you. We promise not to cure all the world's problems while you're on sabbatical -- we'll save some for you. :)

[BlooInBloo]

36. That's nice, but it's FightingIrish who needs a remedy, not malaise.

:evilgrin:

[dEMOK]

38. Wow! You have an excellent way with words - so GET BACK TO WORK...

I've done allot of research into the machinations of the the multi-national power brokers who's $$$ have been steadily poisoning the well in D.C. (for decades); and it ain't a pretty picture. These are equal opportunity corruptors of both major parties. This is why our ship of state repeatedly goes off coarse -- every time it finally we it looks like we're on an even keel.

This said, Now is the time when we can least afford to yield to the forces that "bank" on our becoming discouraged!

This window between now and the '08 election is likely to the most pivotal time in the history of our nation/Constitution. Cheney/Bush's model of imperial domination (financed by the big oil & arms whores of the world) didn't include losing both houses of Congress in '06!


We The People need to hold our elected (and installed) "leaders" feet to the fire more tightly than we've ever done before!!

[NuttyFluffers]

39. i find pina coladas take the edge off as i watch the world go to hell

:toast:

[dEMOK]

40. I guess "pina coladas" are good to have when you're "caught in the rain"...

(I'll also surmise that you're not into health food, but into champagne.)

[NuttyFluffers]

86. ooh, i love health food! and champagne! :D

but i have no illusions that i'm going to live any longer or shorter than my alloted time here. they are just merely methods to derive pleasure while i pass the time. nothing like inari sushi and a magnum of brut...
:9

[MediumBrownDog]

42. Boy, it's refreshing to read an excellent writer....

Your prose rocks. Just sayin'.... I agree with all that you said, too, but I think excellent writing should get separate pat on the back.

[OneBlueSky]

43. a big fat "ditto" from me . . . when we elect a Congress to end the war . . .

and all they do is effectively authorize BushCo to launch another one against Iran, my capacity for outrage is completely sapped . . . I guess we're just going to have to let events unfold the way the corporate oligarchy wants, even if it means the total destruction of our democratic republic . . . and the very planet that sustains us . . .

I'm beginning to understand why people would rather watch American Idol . . .

[blondie58]

44. wow- what a heck of a 1,000 post

your passion and eloquence are outstanding.

It does seem futile- seems like our voices aren't being heard. I wonder how many of our 'leaders' have other agendas or are owned by someone or something else.

But we can not give up. The world depends on it. I agree that taking a break might be good- but after a much needed rest- come back to fight.

WE WILL WIN. More and more people are aware of the crimes of this administration now and we will have much support.


So, when you are ready to come back- you will have a lot of company.

Thanks for an exceptional post.

[Hubert Flottz]

45. I feel the same way you do but...

It's how the ones pulling the strings want you to feel. Whipped!

We can't Quit, you and I both know that. I still remember an oath I once took to my country...not my king.

[Solly Mack]

47. I share that loss - " lost my capacity for outrage"

[MLFerrell]

48. You have so eloquently expressed the horrific frustration that I deal with every day.

It's like watching the skipper of the Titanic sail full speed ahead into the iceberg that you repeatedly warned him was there.

"The phrase "long national nightmare" doesn't even begin to properly describe it.

Wholeheartedly recommended!

[racaulk]

50. Very well said! K&R!

:thumbsup:

[rabies1]

51. You are not alone.

I too have been to Washington DC - I'm going again on the 23rd. I have written in newspapers, to congressmen, senators, etc. So often I get infuriated thinking things will never change. They just seem to get worse with each passing day. It feels like I'm doing all this for nothing. It takes Americans so long to come around but I think we're closer now. It seems more people want impeachment and to end the war NOW. I keep thinking of the Martin Luther King million march on Washington - that's what we could use now big time. Hopefully before it's too late and they decide to nuke Iran. But keep doing what you're doing and know that we thank you and stand firmly behind you.

[bigwillq]

52. Congrats on 1000!

:toast:

[maxkeiser]

53. the simple truth is...

Those in power in the U.S. know that no matter how much abuse they heap on people in the U.S., the people in the U.S. will not stop consuming.

Consumption and over consumption of junk food, junk media, and junk bonds is what funds this war.

Let 10,000 Gandhi's bloom in America and starve the beast to death. Pick a consumer product and stop consuming it until it and the company it represents disappears. (see karmabanque for ideas)

Then pick something else and repeat the process. You have nothing to lose. Your jobs are going to disappear anyway. You don't have any health care worth mentioning. Education standards are dropping. Even infant mortality in America is rising. When are YOU! going to stop giving YOUR money to the people and corporations who send YOU to war; send YOU to the hospital (uninsured); send YOU to debtors prison; and for all intents and purposes - are in the business of sending YOU to hell...

When are YOU going to take your power back?

[Javaman]

Wait till you get to 10K like me, you will be down right

suicidal.

Congratulations, never the less. :)

[ClayZ]

60. LOL

Time to plan or plant a garden!

www.seedsavers.com

It is working for me!

[Javaman]

55. dupe nt

[benld74]

56. You have greater patience than I

I have far less posting than you, and I must STOP myself from reading off of this site and others like it during certain times. I expect to read from these sites, some sort of revelation by the masses, some sort of take America back. But the steps are small, and the people who take them smaller still. The BIG people NEED TO STEP UP and DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO in order to get AMERICA back to where it was BEFORE the W hit us all!

[pingzing58]

57. I'm new to this forum. It's writers like you that give me hope. Keep writing please.

Because as I now understand, our politicians are reading posts such as yours. And, that's important. The message is getting out.

[L0oniX]

59. You had the right idea...

We all must be willing to speak up and lose friends, relatives, business clients, etc.

[WileEcoyote]

61. Fear not!

The military industrial machine will soon collapse from it's own weight.

The Bush regime was a necessary element in it's own destruction.

[CRH]

62. Your first paragraph speaks to the emotions of many, ...

who have fought the fight, lost friends, clients, close relations with family, and found a life long trust in the 'American way and system', was a trust misplaced and betrayed.

Many of us feel that it is now evident the country and the spirit of which it was founded, has lost its moral compass. Others of us wonder if there ever was a moral compass, as the repeated aggression of war after war treachery after treachery, at home and abroad, social and economic, dots our history and heritage; and then truth surfaces as we search our nation's past for wisdom applied to similar circumstance, but instead we find and are confronted with, the slow and steady debasement of what we thought were our country's non negotiable principles of origin.

To finally realize the foundations supporting the principles of the country's moral purpose are crumbling as elected representatives hold fain their own personal interests instead, leaves an emptiness that delivers us to a more realistic healthy cynicism of authoritarian national patriotism that tries to rationalize our adherence and support. What you are experiencing now is really the liberation of your expectations of the fairy tale that is your country.

I feel your sadness as I have experienced the same futile soul searching of purpose, purpose in the face disillusionment, a disillusionment that rested its hopes in optimism that politics will find refuge in the greater good in human consciousness.


Politics are immoral when left within the influence of the human condition. Sad but true with no cure for the blues.

[MilesColtrane]

64. Blame the writers of the Constitution.

They purposefully made it very difficult to remove a President from office. That's why it has never happened in the history of our Republic.

The impeachment process against Cheney is in motion. (abeit slow) Kucinich's resolution is sitting in the House Judiciary Committee.

I recommend contacting John Conyers.

[cui bono]

69. No, the blame belongs on congress and on the dumbing down of our

political system which has become a team sport rather than a system to take care of the country and its people.

The constitution mentions impeachment many times. It's not the constitution, it's the members of congress who refuse to uphold their oath to protect it.

[ooglymoogly]

65. WE MUST NOT GIVE UP THE FIGHT NO MATTER THE ODDS

When you feel like giving up think of our soldiers and the real hardship they are going through and Iraqi's fighting their hopeless battle to survive and losing arms legs and members of their family daily. It is the aim of this cabal to make us think it is hopeless to fight them. Bush is just a rooster puppet in the hands of much smarter men who mean to put this country into a state of apathetic feudalism....WE MUST NOT BECOME THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING....WE MUST BECOME THE SOUND OF A MILLION HANDS CLAPPING AND MAKING OUR VOICES HEARD. I get that feeling of hopelessness and it has nagged me ever since the first SCOTUS power grab and even before when the corporate media were shoving this moron down our throats providing cover for fixed elections....fight to the last breath to save this once great democracy...I know I will continue the struggle with all that is left to me, writing letters, signing petitions, participating in blogs like this and sending limited resources where they are most needed to keep the fight to save this democracy going.
This is a fight to the death.

[FightingIrish]

68. There's nothing like a little DU love and understanding

to get you back on your feet and back in the game. It's not hopeless. Friday our war-supporting Republican congressman will be speaking to my Rotary club. I've decided to challenge him on his failure to represent what the people of his district are telling him. Maybe it's just time for new tactics.

[ooglymoogly]

72. Goodonya and good for you

put a fire under this jerk and ask him if he would replace any of our troops.

[Rex]

66. I think we've learned that the Administration is impossible to change

and that no one is really interested in listening to what the people want. Some, but few and far between.

[Seabiscuit]

70. From the neocon persepective, this is known as wearing out the opposition.

Just flood us with so much insane crap that our brains overload and begin to shut down.

I can empathize. I'm physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually spent and exhausted from all the shit they've rained down on our heads for 7 years.

But I hang in there. I'm going back to the gym to get on a regular workout schedule. I'm improving my diet. I'm taking multivitamins. Why? Because I need the energy back that has gradually been sapped from my body and my very being.

Maybe there is hope, maybe not. But I'm not going to allow them to destroy my life any more.

[grace0418]

71. I feel the same way. And that's just what they want, isn't it?

They want all of us to give up. Become complacent sheep like the rest of the country.

sigh...

:hug:

[MADem]

73. You won't just watch if your scenario plays out.

Unless it's a total air war, there isn't going to be 'another insane war under Dick Cheney's puppet strings' absent a DRAFT. Our Department of Defense is played out, reeling, and they can't "do" Iran with just the USAF and USN.

Funny how a draft gets formerly pro-war College Republicans out in the streets.

Fight the POWAH! Hell, no, we won't go!!

[bobbolink]

74. Many of us are in the same trench you find yourself. We get vilified if we dare voice it,

and many left for that reason.

Between the inaction of those we worked so hard for, and the lack of concern and action over poverty, I, also, said to hell with it.

I came to the sad conclusion that the whole country may well have to go down before people really GET IT.

Just try being a poor person, and having everything ignored, and you'll see just how much worse you can actually feel.

[EFerrari]

75. There you are.

[maxkeiser]

76. i think you're under estimating the scope of the problem...

the war is not, in my opinion, the biggest threat facing Americans...

as we see here;

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/REG/70713024

...the U.S. is trying to offload billions in U.S. mortgages to Chinese creditors...
you can complain all you want about the war, but your home will be owned by foreign banks.
These are creditors with a very low human rights track record - where dissent can be met with death.

the cost of the war, the money borrowed from China to pay for the war, has been kept off U.S. govt's balance sheet - but it has
to be paid back... and with the U.S. dollar now weakening.. the Chinese are nervous.. and the U.S. is trying to pay back the war-loans trading Americans' houses...

[SleeplessinSoCal]

78. I feel the same, though I haven't worked as hard as you.

I hope your post reaches Pelosi or Reid or SOMEBODY who will read what you expressed here. It's how so many feel.

[The Doctor.]

79. It's hard.

Impeachment can't happen not because the Dems don't have the stomach for it, but because they don't have the votes or enough influence to make it work.

I fully believe that impeachment is a good idea. The opportunity to present evidence that the public would finally see would be invaluable, but we both know that the right-wing media controls what people see.

This is the long, hard fight. It will not be over even when Dems control the government and can make big changes. They need to be forced to get corporate money out of politics. They need to clean up elections once and for all. They need to bring transparency back to government. They need to break up the media monopolies and take the news out of the marketing business.

There will always be people working to enrich themselves at the expense of America. When we give up because we don't feel the outrage anymore, and the fatigue of fighting the endless battles stops us in our tracks, that just means it's time to unplug, let someone else take up the fight, and rest up for more of the battles ahead.

You've worked so hard, and like many who see their efforts as smoke in the wind, you want to give up. I wish I could too. I haven't done nearly as much as you have, but I just wish I didn't know what I know. I wish everything seemed the way it did to me when I was 14 and I could just forget.

But I can't, and neither can you.

Take a break, try to unplug for a while. A month, a year, whatever it takes. Then get ready for more battles, because we need you. America needs you.

[colorado_ufo]

82. You said it all and said it well.