I just had an exchange with someone here, struggling. Like we all are struggling. It's right here.
The outcome of that conversation is yet to be seen. There are many like it going on all over the place too. Those are the right conversations to have. People need to have them. And when we deny that what happens? This dilemma is what happens:
Are you more interested in being right, or judging others than you are making it better, beating back corruption, improving things for the majority of Americans struggling economically?
I have all the time in the world for the latter. I’m a progressive, and it means the least of us need more out of this whole thing period.
It also means I have got no time at all for judging people over their decisions in a bat shit nuts election mess.
We can only go forward, and what is done is done. The hardest part in all of that is understanding people have their reasons for how they voted, and they will have more reasons for how they plan to vote, if they vote at all, and those reasons are often rooted in their personal experiences and struggles too.
Do you all realize those things are just true? They happen, and they impact people. And when our experiences are very different, is there any surprise our politics, what we value, why we value it, who we value is different?
None at all. Or, again, there should be none at all.
And for me personally, there was a simple realization I have harbored for some time now:
Somehow, the idea of progress has been made to be predicated on resolving all the blame and shame. UNITY!
Honestly, that is unproductive, manipulative bullshit aimed right at the status quo. No can do. Not gonna happen. (and I generally mean that, when I say it. Ask around. :D )
The realization is this:
Understanding others is more important than sorting out blame and shame, because understanding brings trust, an ability to have a meaningful conversation, and all of that is what revolution is predicated on, not blame, fear and shame.
Once again, a lesson finally learned from Bernie, and I've internalized it. Can speak to it plainly, simply, honestly, no regrets, no inhibitions. Real. We can’t reach people. We can’t build that consensus, common cause to act without having a basis to even talk to one another, and all of that starts by understanding others, our brothers and sisters, the majority of whom are struggling hard.
What did Bernie do after the election?
He went to understand the Trump voters. I now fully understand why, and I got that understanding through a genuine effort to reach out to another one here struggling same as me.
He’s also interested in the non-voters. Why don’t they vote? For many, they simply do not believe it will do them any real good. And here is the hard part in all of that:
The typical response here is along the lines of, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain” blah, blah, blah.
Really? How much sense does that shit really make?
Seems to me, from where I stand, not only can they complain, but they do! And others hear that and respond to it too. Not something we control at all, is it?
Also seems to me this dynamic centers on a control, manipulation issue more than it does actually advancing good politics.
Aren’t we supposed to be about advancing better politics?
How exactly can we do that when we judge, blame, shame and cultivate fear in people?
Fair, sincere question. Think before you comment on it, but do comment on it.
I believe understanding others has real value, but only when we really do internalize all of this crap. And that's hard. We want it to have gone differently. We want others to do what we would have done, but that just didn’t happen. Why?
Another typical response seen here, and many other places online mind you, is “those stupid people...” Again, given their experiences, what is true for them, how can we actually qualify stupid when we also haven’t done the work to understand other people?
Doing that means talking with and to them, not AT them.
Fact is, our leaders are supposed to get this stuff right. That is why we elected them.
The hard truth of this election is the deal wasn't good enough. What they did was present us with a shit sandwich with cheese, pointing to the other shit sandwich without cheese, as if!
No.
Self-respecting Americans don't eat shit sandwiches. And that's why we are here. That's why the election made no real sense. That's why we really shouldn't be judging people for their votes.
Regardless of what you personally feel is right, just, appropriate, the fact is the deal wasn’t good enough for enough of us to make a real mess of things, and that just isn’t on ordinary people. Never was. Never will be.
We don’t control other people and how they vote, what really matters to them. What we can do is put compelling ideas out there and ask them to join us in making it all reality.
And understanding all of that, what it means, how people feel, what they think, and what they need is how we move forward together.
And we can only move forward.
Some of us are not past what happened. That sucks. Honestly, Clinton isn’t past what happened, nor is a lot of the party leadership still struggling with the idea they have been losing their asses for over 1000 seats now. So long as those things are true, it’s not about the people, state of the nation, and most importantly, it’s not about completely unacceptable majority of the nation experiencing real economic human pain and suffering.
I want to post up a winning fight. I do not understand how that can happen when more is invested in telling people, talking AT them, presenting them with VOTE AGAINST politics, when what they really need is VOTE FOR politics, people powered, not big money powered politics. The struggle is real. The pain is real. People dying for lack of sane health care policy is real.
The winning fight is not about who did what, why, or even the current mess with that carnival barking bully Trump.
It is about that unnecessary human pain and suffering. Post up those politics and they will come out, do the work, vote, and we win.
At what point do we make ordinary Americans a priority? When we do, the winning will begin.
ONWARD!
Because fuck this shit.