More of Us

A few years ago, my dear friend Mags was lamenting the state of the world, wondering why the corrupt always seem to get away with their crimes, why the greedy prosper, why dishonesty always manages to win out over truth, why justice never seems to be truly done.

I reminded her of what a good person she was, and rattled off the names of our mutual friends – exceptional people all. “When you think there’s no hope, Mags,” I said, “just remember that there are more of us than there are of them.”

Over the intervening years, Mags has often repeated that phrase to me – when she despairs that all of the things gone wrong will ever be made right. “I know, I know,” she says. “I have to remember: there are more of us than there are of them.”

And there are – and nothing has proven that fact more than this election season.

Over the past few weeks, we have seen the very worst among us not only given free rein to spout their hatred, their bigotry, their lies; we have seen them actually encouraged – nay, incited – to do so by candidates running for the highest offices in the land. But we have also seen the backlash – the plummeting poll numbers, and once-loyal party members distancing themselves from what is being passed off as politics-as-usual because they recognize it for what it really is: hate speech in the guise of campaign rhetoric.

In recent days, this election changed from being a battle between two men, two political parties, two ideologies. It is no longer about fundraising acumen, running the perfect ad at the perfect time, or demonstrating the most intuitive campaign strategy.

This election has been transformed into something more – more visceral, more basic, and eminently more important.

It is about decent people who want to feel decent again. It’s about people who abhor torture not because it is ineffective, but because it is morally reprehensible. It’s about people who don’t see the homeless on their streets as something that brings down property values, but a situation that calls into question our values as a nation.

It is about people who want to earn their living honestly through hard work, and not on the backs of those who toil and reap no benefit from their own labor. It’s about people who want to hear the truth not because it validates their own thinking, but because, like it or not, the truth needs to be told.

It’s about people who worry not only about their own future, but the future of their neighbors, their communities, their fellow citizens. It’s about people who recognize that the enemy isn’t the person who hates you, but the person who encourages you to hate others.

Yes, we have unfortunately seen the worst of us in recent days. But we have also seen that there are more of us – good, decent, caring people – than there are of them: those who would feed hate rather than hope, those who would sow anger rather than plant the seeds of compassion, those who would see a nation destroyed rather than a country rebuilt on a foundation that includes everyone.

Mr. McCain, the Citizenry just called – and they’re taking their country back. They are taking it back to the ideals that once made it great, and will make it great yet again. They are taking it back from the warmongers, the deliberately dumb, the intentionally ignorant, the torturers, the greedy, the corrupt, the uncaring, the ungiving, the hypocrites, and the liars - in other words, the very people you have encouraged to speak out as though they had anything of true value to say.

By all means, keep pandering to the bigots, the homophobes, the pseudo-Christians, the haters, the knuckle-dragging great unwashed - in other words, your base.

But as you do so, keep in mind that there are more of us than there are of you and your kind, sir. And that will be your undoing – as well as theirs.






(This post is for Mags, and all the people like her - people too good at heart to be dismissed, and too kind of spirit to be ignored any longer. This is HER time, this is MY time - this is OUR time, and it will not be taken from us.)

It's so good to have you back!

I have been wondering where you've been, and missing you all the while...

And I am proud to give you the first of many recs, sweetie!

This is perfect, as we have come to expect from you...

Thank you...

:patriot:

:hug:

I :loveya: you :hug: for showing us who we are and reminding us we are far from alone.:grouphug:

... it would sound just like your reply.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. :hug:

:kick:

But from an early age, conservatives are taught by their fathers to ride a bicycle and vote, in that order. They grow up to believe that voting is a birthright that cements them to their forefathers core values and beliefs, and they never miss an opportunity to elect a God fearing Republican or vote down a school levy.

Democrats however, only show up at the polls when there's a draft or a cause.
I only hope this year qualifies as a cause.

I was taught by my father how to ride a bike, how to play baseball, how to throw a football, I was also taught the values of voting and to help our neighbors by both my mother and father. I did the same with my children. We all vote, we all care for our neighbors, and we all stay engaged in local, state and national issues.

What else to say?

our local newspapers with a link to your post here and ask why they aren't running editorials like yours instead of the ones they are running instead.

Outstanding and comprehensive insight and outlook on where things stand. Thank you.

Most days, I have great doubts.

It's the stupidity and lazy thinking that bothers me the most.

"the enemy isn’t the person who hates you, but the person who encourages you to hate others."
Yes.
:applause:

by doubt. I share your belief in the goodness of others and that there ARE more of us than there are of them. It hasn't always seemed so, but it is true. Barack Obama's candidacy seems to bring out the best people and the best in people as well. Thanks for another great essay, Nance! K&R! :dem:

Thank you for the reminder. There are days when the noise gets overwhelming.

I have survived forty years of Southern Strategy, Reaganomics, Cold War, Hot War, Granada, Iran-Contra, Gulf War I, Gulf War II, Afghanistan, Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, ad nauseum. For years, I had given up on the basic goodness of the American people as they elected one fascist after another. Perhaps we may be waking up from this long nightmare of greed and fanaticism, and remembering the basic goodness that makes us Americans. Perhaps. I certainly hope there are more of us than there are of them.

for Brian Schweitzer and his excellent dog, and for top-drawer writing in the service of democracy.

read by as many people as we can email it to.

Kick.

"It’s about people who worry not only about their own future, but the future of their neighbors, their communities, their fellow citizens."

And that, to me, is the biggest difference between us and the right-wingers. We care about not just ourselves, but about everyone else.

Nance-

I want to thank you for this beautiful reminder.

I hope that we will see a new tomorrow and that the fuckers don't steal this election. :)

...just as we are fortunate to have you to continue to inspire and support us. Beautiful writing.

while Sarah Palin whines on in New Hampshire. Believe me, the juxtaposition is jarring! Too bad Sarah doesn't have a friend like Mags. God knows, we'd all be better off if she did. Thank you!

That's what we're seeing this year. That is what will cause a landslide victory on November 4th.

People going to the polls and thinking, "Enough!"

This would make a great speech to deliver in the upcoming days.

K&R

Any attempt to divide the world up into "us" and "them", without making it precisely clear what criterion you're using to divide on and assuming nothing about the division that isn't a direct consequence of that criterion, makes me nervous.

Looking back over the last eight years, I have felt at times that we did not have the numbers, and was very concerned about this, Then I realized the truth, Every election was stolen, we came out in number and voted, however they were stolen and put in the trash. The problem was we accepted the loss, when we should have stood up and demanded the truth, me included.
That was then and here we are now, Our values are still true, we honor freedom, we respect one another and we care.
Change is here and yes we can stand tall once again and bring our beloved country back to the standards of values moving towards tomorrow.
Blessings to you and everyone who shares our beliefs.

And you used the word, abhor, which is about as strong a verb I can think of to describe my feelings for Gramps' base voters.

My favorite line: "It is about decent people who want to feel decent again. It’s about people who abhor torture not because it is ineffective, but because it is morally reprehensible."

I try to resonate with your hopefulness, but I am cynical from decades of having seen way too much. My first thought when you said, "Yes, we have unfortunately seen the worst of us in recent days.", was don't kid yourself, Nance, it can get much worse than this.

The shadow government has no intention of going anywhere on January 20, 2009 – let alone going into a war crimes docket at The Hague. The self-justifying amorality that put this Cabal & their minions in our wheelhouse, 11/22/63 against JFK, drives them today (and it's astonishing just how many of the players THEN are still around, pulling strings & moving money).

Should Obama/Biden pull this off this election victory, at margins BEYOND election fraud (and that is asking a lot); and should he survive the fatwa, the contract (and there's got to be at least 4 dozen Manchurian Candidates, fully groomed, in the que – PLUS whatever this hate.stream.shitstorm might trigger on its own) is asking a miracle, the Forces of Reaction plan to have the New Administration pre-committed and hog-tied to their agendas & worldview. And all of this is before the dozen options they have for having us in a third war in Iran, by Inauguration Day. "Hardball, baby; get in line or get off our field."

Anyway, thanks for another stirring rant; you've lifted my spirits once again.

There are for sure more of us than there are of the knuckle draggers - which is why, once the McBush campaign started slinging mud,Barack's lead started exploding

I'd love it, just love it if Obama could carry Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana - the Red Sea is leaking big time. And I hope we are seeing the death knell of the neocons.