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Our Real World Beckons; Now What Do We Do? [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-19

Reality is the enemy of symbolism.

That’s why yesterday’s People’s March was meaningless to a large extent.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with having it. If it fires up some folks all the better, but like a lot of peaceful protests it’ll accomplished nothing. It’s a show. A show of strength I guess, but still a show.

Maybe there was a time when it would have been more effective but today in our polarized country, where self-preservation, fear, and personal gain are the drivers of our political leaders far more than a desire for the greater good, it was pretty much a waste of time. I hope enough people understand that.

Tomorrow, we enter a dangerous new era in our politics. A provenly corrupt, unfit, morally bankrupt man will take the oath of office to become our next president. Behind him an infrastructure of Project 2025-loving men and women ready to implement an agenda with the major goal of boosting the riches of our most wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Their roads to this goal will include tax cuts, deregulations, slashing so-called entitlements and the social safety net, and tearing down any faction of government that stands in their way. At the head is a convicted felon who our corrupt U.S. Supreme Court has decided can commit any crime he wishes as long as he can cloak it under the term of official duties.

Welcome to America.

So, while the protests are nice and I guess useful to some, our fate won’t be decided by well-intentioned people walking around carrying signs. It will be decided by what we do every day What we do proactively and what we do reactively. And I have to be honest, even if we reach this vitally necessary point in our resistance, it’s still going to be an uphill battle we could very well lose.

How will California react if its disaster aid is cut or held back? What will Chicago – or any major city -- do when the stormtroopers enter its streets, its schools, its churches, its businesses to grab illegal immigrants? What will people do when Medicaid cuts leave them in desperate straits? What will millions of Americas who’ll lose health insurance resort to?

What will schools do when money for free and reduced lunches is eliminated? How about when vouchers leave their rolls depleted and their funding markedly diminished? When there’s no more Department of Education to offer help and support?

What will families do when food stamp cuts leave their children hungry? How will we react when industries are polluting our air and water with no consequences? How about when we see billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg padding their pockets while regular folks suffer?

What will we as a country do when we see increasing chaos and death around the world as America abdicates its leadership role at the behest of dictators like Russian President Vladmir Putin?

What will we do? I don’t know. I really don’t know.

Will Democrats in Congress finally grow a spine and stop bailing out a dysfunctional Republican Party? Will they have the guts and toughness to use every tool at their disposal against the upcoming surge? Or will they again step in and help them pass important legislation on the basis that it’s for “the good of the American people?”

Don’t they understand they’re just helping the GOP win again in 2026 when they do that. Protecting the voters from the consequences of their vote isn’t for the good of the American people. It’s for the good of those conspiring against the American people.

Here's what won’t work: Facebook posts, memes, and celebrities, especially celebrities (yes, even Taylor Swift and Beyonce). Nor will moving to the Left in a center-right country do the trick.

There are millions of people in this country who want to do the right thing. We’re all over the place, but we need a plan. For this we’ll need leaders at the local, state and national levels. People with strength and ideas and a powerful message. Smart, cool-headed, tough-as-nails individuals who know what buttons to push, what actions to take, what disruption to cause.

Unfortunately, they appear few and far between in the current Democratic landscape. That has to change. Sweep out the weak and bring in the strong.

So here we go. Our four years (at least) of hell begins. Let’s hold nothing back.

What it’ll look like on the other side is anybody’s guess.

***

Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Please share and subscribe for free via email on its home page.

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