Just take comfort in knowing that these days are even tougher for the rwingers as they are slowly being crushed.

And remember that one election does not make the world change. It takes years and years to fight the battles that, well, frankly, have been being fought for years and years. We are, on some fronts, making progress.

'These guys and gals' will NOT stop, unless/until they're utterly defeated, which given the volume of propaganda available to them, is not likely.

to the sane people and the others are hopeless. It will be OK.

about what they're doing and what the likely consequences of their actions will be. Then I step away and do what makes me happy for a while.

I used to get really wrapped up in the fact that almost everybody is determined to learn everything they will ever learn the hard way and it was my duty to help them avoid the hard lessons. I probably shortened my own life by a decade before I realized that they really don't want to know. Most of them will go through the mistakes and still never learn anything from it, but if you warned them before hand, they will resent you for being right all along and somehow it will become your fault in their mind.

So, do all that you can without hurting yourself, and never neglect your own happiness. We only get this one life, wasting it in misery or futility is the worst real sin.

Unless you're rich, then it is your duty to make the world a significantly better place, because you are one of the few that can really make a difference.

I just so want to leave a better world to my children and grandchildren. I come here because I need the company of like minded people. But it does become too much at times. On the one hand I feel it is my duty and responsibility to keep up the fight but on the other it can get exhausting. You make a great point about not staying in misery or futility. I appreciate your kindness.

The endless war on error is both exhausting and addicting. I just got sucked into a pointless battle and finished the responding rant, and then I read your reply and realized that there are still some nice people around here.

Thank you. I'm going to spend some time with a horse as soon as he's finished breakfast.

"Unless you're rich, then it is your duty to make the world a significantly better place, because you are one of the few that can really make a difference. "

Why shouldn't a rich person have the same duty, and why shouldn't s/he really make a difference?

you owe more. It used to be known as Noblesse oblige.

As a simplified example, if you are a wage earner just getting by at $50K, you really should hand that homeless lady a couple bucks because it really helps her at that moment and is not going to negatively impact your life. But, if you have a $5M trust fund and get a check for $10+K every month, you owe it to the society that makes your situation possible far more than handing out $5 bills when you stop at the off-ramp.

That's the end of the world, you know.

Thanks for the reminder! You just made me smile!

...until we get there, this is what people of conscience do - keep fighting the good fight. (If there was no opposition, we would be there already.)

As messed up as the US is at times (and Canada too) just be glad you don't live in a place where you can be arrested for blasphemy, murdered for trying to go to school, sentenced to death for being gay, or forced to work in a sweatshop 14 hours / day for (barely) enough to eat.

If todays battles ended tomorrow, there would be all new battles to take up. It's going to be a long, long road but the only options are to accept the status quo, to give up and let the other side win or to press on for as long as you can pry yourself up off the mat.

It's darkest before the dawn........look out gop

when talking about politics. The work is NEVER done because politicians and the 1% whom they represent don't ever rest. Their quest is to get even more of the pie which means you and I and everyone else who cares about this country and it's future can't afford to rest. If you mean do I ever take a break from DU? Yep. And that's not a bad thing because the information on DU is so massive that it can sometimes become overwhelming. So, I would say, if you need to take a break, take a break and come back when you're ready because we need all the warriors we can get.

I take breaks from politics, though not from the news completely.

What I usually do when I feel like I'm burning out on politics and political news is stick with printed or internet news --I lay off the political shows on tv or on radio, or mostly lay off them.

I stay informed but the overstimulation of political media (tv, cable, radio, etc.) protect myself from when I'm feeling too amped by it --or when I'm simply getting weary of it.

Back in 2008, when the primaries were burning me out and I was on DU so much, I'd go into the Lounge and talk about music, jokes, tv, etc.

And when I step back a little to take my breaks, there's other things to do. Football and baseball are good, I watch more movies, more car shows, technology is always a hobby, so I focus on that.

And then after some lower levels of political information and stimulation, I dive back in when I'm interested again.

Even things you love, you need to make sure not to overdo.

I get sick of the incessant bickering and the unwillingness to sit down and actually address the problems of this nation in a meaningful way. It has become all about the game and the talk. No one appears to want to walk a walk.

...that's why nothing seems to be working. Why the government doesn't seem to care about the people anymore. Why you cannot think one election makes everything "well and good" again.

The problem is not with you, Sadiedog. The problem is with a sick and hijacked system. Americans deserve better. But we will have to fight for this as never before.

It is normal and appropriate to feel depressed about what this country has come to IMO. The comments in this thread are dead on--you have to pace yourself with exposure to the harsh reality of it all. But do not think that one election will stop the greedy and corrupt, who fight everyday to rule this country and pay as little back as possible.

We who want good government, who want to trust that our interests are being addressed--are being used and abused. We have to stick together to overcome this historic distortion of the principles of democracy.

---------------------------------
"A record $6 billion was spent on the 2012 campaign, and outside groups poured $1.3 billion into political races, according to data from the Federal Election Commission and the Center for Responsive Politics.

That’s why Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission has to be reversed—either by a Supreme Court that becomes aware of the poison it’s unleashed into our democracy, or by constitutional amendment.

It’s also why we need full disclosure of who contributes what to whom."

From "The Billionaires' Long Game" by Robert Reich

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021975086

(Link to the thread posted in GD by applegrove)

They know their candidate will go right to work doing everything they can for the 1% and whackadoodles that put them in office.

Democrats get to work trying to compromise and give the Republicans almost everything they want so they won't say bad things about them on Fox news.

Sad but true

I'll be 70 next month. I thought we should be far more advanced as far as human rights, civil rights, voting rights, environmental rights, animal rights, etc. We won some of these battles before, but when you have to fight them all over again it is depressing. No doubt about it. BUT the other posters are right, you have to take a break, recharge, and get back into it. Why, because we care.

I`m almost 57 and and also had thought we would be far more advanced in all the areas you mention. It feels like we make small gains and then it all gets pushed back and here we go again! I so appreciate the people here if not for all of you I would probably just give it all up. Perhaps that is the long range plan anyway, exhaust us until we give up? Hmmmm. Thank you.

I used to, but I took a break from politics a couple of years ago; that is to say that I remained informed, but I made myself get involved in other "worldly" activities. It helped a great deal since I had become severely tunnel visioned. Politics had me spinning my wheels, so I needed to get away and do some creative and productive things with my life. I returned to DU just recently with a fresh perspective. I'm not advocating this for everyone, but it did work for me.

My advice: Chin up - Go outside and play for a while.

You have all helped maybe more than you will ever know! I have always been a fighter and will continue the good fight! I know in my heart that it all is the right thing to do! I just found myself in a negative place as the attacks seem so relentless!

There is no doubt. What's worse is the feeling of helplessness that goes along with it. The feeling that things are out of control and all you can do is sit there and watch everything unfold.

And I am in an advanced state of "don't give a fuck about nothin'" right now,