Deep breaths

Martin Rose,

this ain’t easy, no, it surely ain’t

more deep breaths

hangin tough here in this strange new world (staring straight-ahead face)

Resist!

I've been having a lot of "sads" lately. Reading your post helped lift me up a bit.

And despair kept coming up. A lot of us have fought the good fight for a very long time, so watching this disgusting spectacle is particularly hard. But I truly believe that it really is darkest before the dawn, and we're watching an evil, unhuman system fighting for its very existence. It's bound to lose because it's dying and the universe really does "bend toward justice."

It’s what I was hoping to find when I logged onto DU today. It helps to remind myself that 79% of the voting population wanted witnesses at Trump’s impeachment trial. And it helps to remind myself that now all but one Republican Senator is on record voting for his acquittal. And that this was the first time in our history that a member of the President’s party voted for his conviction and removal from office.

Knowing he would be acquitted, I still believe impeachment it was the right thing to do. Now we must all work like hell to keep the House and take the Senate.

See my response above in this thread. I'm glad I was able to help.

we were around pre-Roe vs. Wade.

We heard about the fatalities of women, girls, or mothers that died trying to get birth control or terminations. For that matter, women could beg for sterilization and the men doctors wouldn’t do it. We have more and more women doctors now. Catching up.

The only condition a woman could cry Rape was if the man put her in the hospital or killed her. If she survived, even then, she would be mercifully interrogated like she deserved it for wearing “fill in the blank outfit”...we are the Me Too originators. Nobody would listen. Nobody cared.

Mostly because the white, "Christian", warmongering, straight males wouldn't relinquish their total control over the rest of civilization. They believe if others gain rights and power that it's a finite thing and they in turn lose some of theirs.

I'm so glad our Party of the People had such diversity this year for its presidential candidates. Look how far backward our country has gone because of one orange moron. We almost have to start all over again.

That’s as much of a shot of inspiration you just gave me.

Thank you. Well said.

We've certainly seen and lived and witnessed a lot in our lifetimes and a whole lot of big changes for the better. Our ideals of what patriotism and democracy looks like and is were learned in school and in home. Our elders fought a tyrannical dictator at great cost and sacrifice and after the war ended they picked up the pieces and began their lives with optimism. That's why there are so many of us boomers.

I do not want to go to my grave without seeing us turn this thing around. The Nazi rallies need to stop. The racists need to be put in their place. The progressives in this country need to take charge and move us forward. There have been times in our very short history that this country has taken steps backward, but we always seem to eventually move forward once again.

I hope this terrible time in our history is over sooner rather than later so we can get to work to undo the mess they've made. We all know well enough that the people who supported him are not going to play nice when we win. We will move forward without them.

No matter how discouraged some days/weeks make us, we all know that each and every one of us on DU (at least I like to think this is true) are going to vote Blue No Matter Who!

I can't believe I got this old! What happened?

Marched in college. And then they killed Kennedy and Kennedy and Martin.

I actually knew George McGovern. I stage managed his TV commercials in the Midwest. It seems like yesterday and it seems like an eon ago.

And now we have fascists.

Bloody hell.

Looking back I can clearly remember how gut-punched I felt when the crook, Nixon not only won, but won in a landslide. Took me a long time to get over that. I was interested in politics and subscribed to US News and World Report as a senior in high school and what I was reading about Nixon was disturbing. However, what I was reading wasn't out there for the general public unless you went looking for it and put the effort in to educating yourself.

The assassination of Bobby Kennedy was like the last straw for me and for awhile I had to back off from politics for a bit to retain my sanity. There was so much awfulness in those assassinations but I and the country eventually moved forward once again.

The young people will take us forward from here and build the world they want. I really, really want to live to see that happen. I have two adult children who have been voters since they turned 18 and they have always been Democrats. They are highly educated people with great jobs but have so much empathy for those who didn't have the privileged childhoods they had. They are my legacy, and I am so glad I passed along that caring for others they possess.

We oldsters will do what we can to right the wrongs also. And yes, how the hell did we ever get so old???

Everyone mumbles now. You kids, these days.

This is just what I needed to hear today!!

that would keep "them" from stealing it later

if we all do that, we win

remember there are way more of us than there are of them

To Global Citizens of the World.....UNITE!

Together we can stop the efforts of global organized crime.

(And yes, many older Americans, as well as younger patriots.... remember the display of patriotism from movie Casablanca..... French anthem, La Marseilles)

a few days ago about me and all my radical left friends in the 60's and how much we affected things.

Then, I started thinking at least half of them somehow later shifting to the right and the Republican Party....

I wonder how that happened after all we witnessed and protested in our earlier years..........

It's really strange....................

Getting shot and having a nightstick crack your skull is the equivalent to what was going on overseas. Let me say the same to you and the others who fought for us: Thank you for your service.

People who fight for peace, the environment, civil rights for all, whatever--it's all for the good of the country and the planet. To hell with oil. There are renewables to replace it with.

Fight for what's right. Fight for our America.

Robert McNamara came into a store I was working in and wanted to cash an expense check from the U.S. gov't.

Thankfully the store owner and I were of the same political tilt and he didn't fire me for telling McNamara to leave the store.

The only clean words would've been "baby killer" and "murderer".

It must be very warm where he is now.

stupid and all boomers are right wing trump supporters. And we have nothing to offer.

I’m an old hippie (nearly 75) with the exact same values I had when I was a young hippie. I taught my children to be their true selves, to question authority when necessary, to speak out against racism and injustice. I taught them to be grateful for everything they had and to honor simplicity.

There are so many wonderful, fearless young people in this world who aren’t afraid to speak out. They remind me of how it was during our protests against the Vietnam War, and during our fight for the Women’s Movement, the fight for Civil Rights. We were called leftists, traitors, un-American. We were told to cut our hair and get off the streets. As if long hair was more important than the all the war deaths.

I’m not afraid because there are still people willing to stand for something, people willing to openly say that we need to be better.

Your post was wonderful, Blue. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm glad I was able to give you a lift today.

It's nice to see those words and sentiments in print. I'm feeling it too, but sometimes my feelings have hiccups.

This morning, I told my wife I'm getting a different leg and that I'll most likely be walking sometime this year. We both lost some "water weight" for the next few minutes, but like you, I'm tough as hell.

Let's do this.

Yes, it's so hard to watch the ***show.

It would make it easier.

I'm 72 and and my first political memory is listening to Harry Truman talking about the Korean War and Adlai Stevenson's race against Ike on the family radio. Family didn't have a TV back then (1952). Hell, half the people I knew didn't have one.

Years later I wasn't fortunate enough to dodge the draft like Private Bone Spurs with his special doctors, so I guess the two years I was forced to spend in the US Army was my personal worse experience. After basic training I was put in an admin MOS, so at least I didn't have to kill anyone or risk being killed.

The mid-1960s to mid-1970s were some awful years for our country, but with what Trump and repukes are doing, today's USA is worse.

A post up thread reminded me of how I feel today. "We have just begun to fight." I am a self-confessed cheerleader....

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I never knew until now what the anthem said. No wonder it creates such a stir in Casablanca during WW2 with German soldiers present and half of France occupied. I always thought the anthem singing scene was mostly a contest of wills over French patriotism in war. But with those words, they could have been singing about German occupation instead of the French Revolution.

No matter how many times I see that film, I still get chills during that scene.

Thanks for the post.

And 50 years later I can still remember the words.

The words are so true, your uncle, is what America is about, in its heart of hearts. You are right, we who have seen so much, have a powerful foundation of the history of the 20th century, what we learned this country is all about freedom, participation in our democracy, and doing the right thing in a moral and ethical sense.

My father, uncles, cousins, father in law, all enlisted in the US Marine Corps, Army Air Corps, Navy and the Army. The joined after Pearl Harbor, without a second thought. They were teenagers, some of them hadn't finished high school. We know many did not come back.

My point is that they went to stop the Nazi horror, and the other totalitarian spin off regimes in Europe, and all over the globe for the sake of our allies and to prevent it from coming here.

There are no alternative facts. We live by the truth, that we are all created equal, we can only thrive in a free, just benevolent, and participatory society, and we must and we will pass it on to our grand children and theirs. Thank you, for the inspiration.

And future husband served in WW 2. My Husband was wounded on Omaha Beach when the second man in front of him stepped on a land mine. He went on through Europe to help liberate the Concentration Camps as an MP. My Dad was an Engineer building bridges for the Troops. All my Uncles served.

I watched ,” Sunrise at Campobella,” Friday. FDR”s struggle to walk again. I could have cried thinking of how far we have fallen. There is no way to but up!

were the ones leading the fight to 'bring America back to God'

Lots of applause from the many seniors in the audience

with 50 to 53% voting for him. They also made up 64% of the people who voted. The under 40s are also 2 to 3 times more likely to vote for a third party, further diluting their power.

https://www.businessinsider.com/exit-polls-who-voted-for-trump-clinton-2016-11

I hope that the over 40s pay attention to the GOPs plans to cut Social Security and Medicare.

These are the same assholes we went to school with and fought against for every advance we've made. They didn't stop us then, they won't stop us now.

Just to name a few.

I'm lucky enough to add the Beatles, The Byrds, The Doors, Country Joe, The Jefferson Airplane and Dylan to that list as well. The James Gang; a short lived group, but great in concert. Of course the psilocybin mushrooms helped quite a bit also.

They brought Joe Walsh (the good one) to the forefront.

I'm glad he got clean and sober. He was heading for rock and roll hell in a hand-basket for awhile there.

I hope we can all back it up in meat space.

I keep hoping that kind of like when Nixon was deposed and it happened almost overnight, that maybe this will happen again.

I marched in anti-war demos. Not sure I can do those things now, but I try to spread the word.

Peace!

Ha. That still cracks me up.

I am a little older than you and agree on all of it. There is an advantage to seeing through the lens of time. A steadiness.

We need the newest adult voices as well as the oldest. But make no mistake... yesterday's news is not ancient history, it is what built us.

Good post. Thanks for sharing.

I never thought I'd see the day where "Senior" would describe who I am. I'm still 21 mentally, but my body is really starting to give me the finger.

In my opinion we're still living through the civil rights, peace, and women's movement. It ain't over until everyone is treated equally, and that might take a long time considering how many people believe and act like Donald Trump. But I'll never stop fighting, and after I die my daughter will take over the fight for equality for everyone.

Another 49er here! Vividly remember the marching and the protesting back in the 70’s. Remember not qualifying for credit in my own name once I was married!
Thought we won these battles long ago. Guess they’re never truly won. Many thanks for your encouragement to keep on working to restore our values. Peace, Hannah

Who would have guessed!

I was one of the early ones, in January.

My wizened ol' guy tips for keeping your sanity:

1. Close down. Declare yourself a shut shop to anything political. Decide who you will vote for, party wise, then ignore all Repub propaganda, Dem infighting, media of all sorts (cartoon watching on TV is ok).
Let the children fight, let the media bleat. Most don't know what they are doing anyway.
Then take an interest when voting is a day or two away.

2. Look after yourself. Eat well, play well, sleep well.
Look after your closest. Look after your pets. Have a hobby, even if it is just playing solitaire on the computer or with real cards.
Visit the library. Join up, read books.

Remember: It's your life, your health, your sanity. Build walls around yourself to protect those.

And above all: be kind to all you meet. People will remember you for that.
(I had two chances to be polite and kind while shopping today. Got some lovely smiles as my reward. Winner!)

My 6-yo grandson introduced me to it. Way, way better than the news.

for all we stood for, fought for, and still do.

Absolutely true that we cannot be gaslighted because we know our values and what facts are. Even if some of us can't physically put on the marching boots today, we can still speak, post, tweet, and write. We can encourage and inspire younger people. We are witnesses to what activism can do and what our nation can be when people stand up for what it should be.

Our parents defeated fascism once and we, with the younger generations, can do it again.

My father served in the Navy in the Pacific in WW2. My uncle served in the Army in Europe, was captured, and spent 2 years in a German POW camp. He was the grandson of a man who had fled Kaiser Bill's Germany due to political persecution for supporting the Liberal Party's democratic reforms. They passed along to my generation the story of what they stood for and why. Now it's our turn to pass their and our stories on into the future.

Many thanks for the memory.

Thanks for the shout-out to all us vintage folk. Hell no, we won’t quit!

Many of us by now have also dealt with 1) caring for and losing our parents; and 2) surviving or living with some serious personal medical headwinds, so we more fully know loss, and how one’s life is both fleeting and precious. Our empathy for fellow humans who are oppressed and suffering has only deepened, as has our concern for the care of the now-fragile planet Earth.

There’s so much that needs to be repaired (far beyond infrastructure alone), including the very image of America and the reputation of the American people in the eyes of the world. We didn’t come all this way just to watch everything stagger sideways into fascism.

Quit? Hell no, the work’s only just begun!

Just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean there's no fire inside.

earlier this week I still think I'm 35. I don't like being called a "senior" since I'm still a hot, young chick.