Maybe these are stupid questions- but isn't

the power of one persons mind a potential "Weapon of Mass Destruction"?

What conventional WMD's were used in 9/11?

WE'VE used many WMD's in 'response' to the 'terrorist attacks' of 9/11, and what has it truly gained us?

WE are using and have used WMD's in Iraq, supposedly to 'make the world a safer place' and does anyone honestly believe this is a 'safer' world now?

Does anyone else feel like they've awoken from a terrible new millennium 6 yr.nightmare, and cannot come to terms with the fact that this is NOT a nightmare?----- that it is our reality, and there is 'no way out'?

We keep setting our hopes on 'the next election' or 'this investigation' or 'this exposure of how corrupt and 'evil' those in power really are', and yet nothing changes???

It's like being stuck in an abusive relationship, not wanting to face reality, and continually believing that the 'apology' is real, and that change really is possible.

How can * stand before the world and say we have a "transparent democracy' and not be laughed off the face of the earth?

Have we all fallen down the rabbit hole, and found the bottles that say 'drink me'?

Help me find my way back home.... please?

with the half buried lady liberty on the ocean....

But how do we get out of the theater and back to the 'real' world???-

the same policies were enacted there, and people eventually went into the streets.

things may have to get a bit worse, but we're getting there.

You are coming to terms with the truth. When that happens, you can consider more realistically the options available to act for justice and peace.

By relying on the elected Democrats, we find ourselves in a cycle of hope and disappointment. Not only is their power limited by being the minority party, but even when they could succeed by banding together they fail by dividing (the CAFTA vote comes to mind, which could have been defeated if all Dems had stood together because quite a few Repubs voted against it too).

I used to write my Senators regularly - real snail mail letters. And after I got a couple of replies fom Levin (generally a 'good guy') that were about wholly different bills than the ones I wrote about, I confirmed what I suspected - they don't listen to us. We are not their constituents. Our democracy is broken.

While seeing the reality of that is painful at first, it is also a huge relief. Because the longer we try to use a broken system to fix itself, the longer we will waste time and energy, and the longer it will be before we can actually make real changes.

There are different ways for political change. In fact, throughout history, one of the only ways to get there (in the US and elsewhere) is mass protests that last for days - people in the streets refusing to back down - not just Sunday afternoon marches with permits and police escorts, but a real people's movement that the media and the leaders cannot ignore. Disruption. Striking. Nothing violent, or controversial - just nonstop demonstrating (think Ukraine after their botched election in 2004). I don't know how to make that happen. It has to come from the people. Not the Dems or Repubs or the 'likely voters', but ALL the people. People finally recognizing (on both sides of the aisle and the nonvoters) that they are working against their own interests, and the good of the country in general.

We are trying to do something in my town, we protest 5 days a week. We've grown in the last couple months from about 5 or 6 people to well over 20 people most days. It's gradual, but we are ready for the turning point. And I truly believe it will come.

I guess my point is that we need to start being creative and come up with our own solutions, because our 'leaders' aren't going to do it for us. Yes, they should, it's their job, but they aren't now and there is no reason to suspect they ever will. I don't know if our local protests will ever do any good, but so far they sure feel more productive than writing my Senators and signing online petitions. I think we need to turn off our computers and talk to other people face-to-face - not as partisans but as real human beings with much more in common than not.

Peace and solidarity! :patriot:

I understand what you are saying, and I agree... but my pocket full of 'hope' seems to be pretty empty. Maybe there is a hole in it, and I need to discover where and exactly what it is, so I can patch it. I've lived through some great protest, civil action times- Fighting a nuclear waste dump planned for our area (successfully) protesting the opening of Seabrook Nuclear Plant (unseccessfully) protesting the first Gulf War obviously unsuccessfully..... seems that when people get out en mass, as we have, nothing changes..... and then people stop coming out.... and others are too busy in the 'rat-race' because looking at this world is overwhelming... so they stay 'too busy'.

I appreciate the encouragement- don't mean to be a downer.... its just that the more I see, learn, and watch the public swallow without vomiting it up in rage and dismay... the more I feel like I'm lost and helpless to have any real impact towards helping turn this mess around.

:crazy:

I find that when I get off DU and I talk to the 'common folk' in the street - even those who may self-identify as Republicans or non-voters - I learn that they are not swallowing the bullshit. I think at DU we get the impression that people are much dumber than they really are. Not only that, the people driving theur Prius with their impeach bush stickers aren't the ones who stop and grab a sign and join our protest. They are too busy trying to get to Whole Foods before the dinner rush. Rather, the "ignorant redneck" in a pick-up truck with a Nascar sticker (who turns out to be a Republican Veteran whose benefits keep getting cut and he's sick of reading about Halliburton's profits), or the blue-collar worker on their way to the bus stop (who has never voted because she trusts neither party but is very concerned about her rising health care costs) has the time to wait for the next bus out of town and stand with us for half-an-hour.

That's where my hope comes from. Not the news or the computer, but the PEOPLE. After 2 years of in-depth DUing I was so jaded about the 'ignorant masses', the 'sheeple', or whatever. Well, a couple months of protesting almost daily and talking to people cured that. The people are much smarter than we think, and they are much readier than we think. They just need a venue to express it.

The other obsession on DU is the need to get people 'on our side'. That's never going to happen. There is too much agenda and baggage and political maneuvering for any 'liberal activist' to reach any 'ignorant masses'. Our challenge is quite the opposite, IMO. We can't tell them what we think is the important issue of the day and demand their support. Rather we need to ask them what is important to them, what their issues and concerns are. Aside from one weirdo yesterday who went on and on about the evils of porn (it was rather funny), almost no one has mentioned gay marriage or flag burning or even abortion - it's all about ending the war, healthcare, job security. Simple, obvious things. We need to get back to basics and demand our democracy back. I don't know how to do it other then to be in street and to talk to people. So that's what I do.

Peace!

me focus abit. And what you say is true. Maybe remembering that 'we' aren't what the news, media, blogs, radio heads, etc 'say WE are, or believe what is claimed... is something I need to keep remembering.
Guess I've been forgetting that the everyday people I come in contact with, even the red-neck old timers, are fed up to the gills with everything that is happening in this world- Being something of a control freak myself, I get so frustrated when there is nothing I can DO - like 'right now' to make everything ok-
Thank you for taking the time to remind me what the truth is, not the propaganda.... and that even if things seem to be getting worse, or impossible to change, that there ARE steps forward being made- friends and neighbors who refused to question the 'authority' of this govt, now speak with the kind of frustration and discontent I've been doing for years .... THAT IS something to remember, and to build on....

Life is hard enough for most folks without adding this failed government into the mix... but in the end, it IS you, me, and every other 'just folks'.... who make up 'us'- and we collectively have power- the only power that matters in the long run.

The rich people can't eat money....well, they can, but not for long-

Thanks again Meganmonkey- your logic and reminders of what is really important help alot.
peace to you too-

blu

Sometimes lately I feel like a proselytizing born-again who just saw the light, LOL!

I truly hope that you find a way that works for you to turn the frustration into action. Effective action.

We will get there, somehow, someday.

:hug:

and we're using them indiscriminately in both Iraq and Afghanistan . . .

cluster bombs are potentially WMDs, since they leave their bomblets all over the place where children can pick them up and be killed or injured . . .

white phosphorus and napalm are WMDs, and there's evidence that we've used both in Iraq . . .

in some respects, DREs are WMDs -- massively destructive of our electoral process, the foundation of American democracy . . .