Agree with everything you said here, and props for saying it so clearly and articulately. A pretty dead-on assessment of the situation, to be sure.
I absolutely concur that we need a cohesive strategy and national leadership on this. As to who's willing or even able to do that, I have no answer. If I did, I'd be sitting somewhere besides …
Agree with everything you said here, and props for saying it so clearly and articulately. A pretty dead-on assessment of the situation, to be sure.
I absolutely concur that we need a cohesive strategy and national leadership on this. As to who's willing or even able to do that, I have no answer. If I did, I'd be sitting somewhere besides the seat I occupy now. ( See original comment below.)
But to answer your question about who's willing to role up their sleeves and do the work, even if this is a bit tangential because of my "seat"... I am. And by your words posted here, I suspect you are, too.
Bear with me a moment.
I've recently had the experience of watching a very small and relatively inconsequential positive act turn into a larger and more consequential positive act, because the smaller act prompted the involvement of more people wanting to do something to contribute.
So how is this relevant here?
You rightly applauded the sentiments and efforts of the signers, then assessed the likely effect of this effort as not enough, in and of itself, to get the job done. Also correct, I'm sure.
But as I noted in my earlier comment, this effort is not nothing.
So, unless and until some effective national leadership comes forth to galvanize people into cohesive action on this issue, what is one to do to contribute to the defense of our democracy and our ability to govern ourselves?
The answer to that would be different for each individual. We all have obligations and constraints on our time and resources. And what may be accomplished on an individual basis may not seem to carry much weight. But that doesn't preclude the possibility that the action taken may be multiplied in weight by another action taken by someone else, as I alluded to above.
So, this is what I do. Because I can do it. And I'm sure some folks reading this will see it as my being naive or Pollyannaish. So be it. But a more hardcore Never Trumper, equal opportunity politician-bashing, hair-on-fire-unaffiliated nonpartisan voter who has a working concept of realpolitik has never walked the face of the earth.
I throw rocks.
I write to the damned politicians. And I write loudly. And I tell them at this moment in time this is job 1. Period. And I ain't necessarily polite about it, though I do refrain from profanity beyond what I just penned here, and don't indulge in vulgarities, though these days that would be an easy trap to fall into. Just a personal code of conduct thing.
But I take the gloves off and pull no punches. And if I get no response, which is often the case, I write back even more loudly. And if I get a totally lame and / or off-subject response as I did from one of my U.S. Senators not long ago, I send a reply informing them that just because I'm a Never Trumper who is not inclined now, or in the foreseeable future, to vote for any Republican at any level, and they're a Democrat, don't think that means I'll be automatically supporting their sorry keister the next time around.
So, there you have it. My contribution to the fight at the moment. Not a heroic effort, to be sure. And it doesn't carry any more weight than my signature on the letter in question here would. I know this, beyond all doubt.
But what the hell. I like throwing rocks, and if I'm going to start chucking them, I figure I should be aiming them at the most deserving targets. Who are, at this moment, you know who.
And since this is not nothing either, it's better than nothing in my book.
You never know. Maybe I hurl a few, and maybe someone else hurls a few at the same target. And then perhaps someone else. Maybe the mineral missiles from different quarters start to accumulate, make a little plie, start to get a little heavy.
Not saying this will happen. But I'm not saying it couldn't, either.
So, like I said, what the hell.
And it has the added benefit of feeling pretty good.
Agree with everything you said here, and props for saying it so clearly and articulately. A pretty dead-on assessment of the situation, to be sure.
I absolutely concur that we need a cohesive strategy and national leadership on this. As to who's willing or even able to do that, I have no answer. If I did, I'd be sitting somewhere besides the seat I occupy now. ( See original comment below.)
But to answer your question about who's willing to role up their sleeves and do the work, even if this is a bit tangential because of my "seat"... I am. And by your words posted here, I suspect you are, too.
Bear with me a moment.
I've recently had the experience of watching a very small and relatively inconsequential positive act turn into a larger and more consequential positive act, because the smaller act prompted the involvement of more people wanting to do something to contribute.
So how is this relevant here?
You rightly applauded the sentiments and efforts of the signers, then assessed the likely effect of this effort as not enough, in and of itself, to get the job done. Also correct, I'm sure.
But as I noted in my earlier comment, this effort is not nothing.
So, unless and until some effective national leadership comes forth to galvanize people into cohesive action on this issue, what is one to do to contribute to the defense of our democracy and our ability to govern ourselves?
The answer to that would be different for each individual. We all have obligations and constraints on our time and resources. And what may be accomplished on an individual basis may not seem to carry much weight. But that doesn't preclude the possibility that the action taken may be multiplied in weight by another action taken by someone else, as I alluded to above.
So, this is what I do. Because I can do it. And I'm sure some folks reading this will see it as my being naive or Pollyannaish. So be it. But a more hardcore Never Trumper, equal opportunity politician-bashing, hair-on-fire-unaffiliated nonpartisan voter who has a working concept of realpolitik has never walked the face of the earth.
I throw rocks.
I write to the damned politicians. And I write loudly. And I tell them at this moment in time this is job 1. Period. And I ain't necessarily polite about it, though I do refrain from profanity beyond what I just penned here, and don't indulge in vulgarities, though these days that would be an easy trap to fall into. Just a personal code of conduct thing.
But I take the gloves off and pull no punches. And if I get no response, which is often the case, I write back even more loudly. And if I get a totally lame and / or off-subject response as I did from one of my U.S. Senators not long ago, I send a reply informing them that just because I'm a Never Trumper who is not inclined now, or in the foreseeable future, to vote for any Republican at any level, and they're a Democrat, don't think that means I'll be automatically supporting their sorry keister the next time around.
So, there you have it. My contribution to the fight at the moment. Not a heroic effort, to be sure. And it doesn't carry any more weight than my signature on the letter in question here would. I know this, beyond all doubt.
But what the hell. I like throwing rocks, and if I'm going to start chucking them, I figure I should be aiming them at the most deserving targets. Who are, at this moment, you know who.
And since this is not nothing either, it's better than nothing in my book.
You never know. Maybe I hurl a few, and maybe someone else hurls a few at the same target. And then perhaps someone else. Maybe the mineral missiles from different quarters start to accumulate, make a little plie, start to get a little heavy.
Not saying this will happen. But I'm not saying it couldn't, either.
So, like I said, what the hell.
And it has the added benefit of feeling pretty good.