Five months ago I remarked on the startling uptick in dissatisfaction that Americans had with the direction that the country was headed. At the time, dissatisfaction had gone from the high fifties into the high sixties between March and April, and since then dissatisfaction has only risen. Of course, if you're living through this period right now, this probably doesn't surprise you. America has become more chaotic, sicker, poorer, and more divided than ever. People are totally exhausted on both sides, and everyone just wants the show to be over. We are all feeling a deep sense of both relief and dread over the fact that the election is finally tomorrow, and we will hopefully get to turn the page as so many Americans agree we need to.
In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?
Dissatisfied: 80%
When 80% percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction the country's headed and only 50 something percent will be voting for the winning party, you know that something is deeply wrong, not just wrong in that people don't like who's in charge, wrong in that they don't like how the system itself works. While this election gives us the chance to hold a defensive action for democracy, safeguarding against rising fascism and minority rule, it is only the 1st step in what is going to be a very long and arduous journey. Keep in mind that the Supreme Court and the federal courts have been stacked against majority supported policies, and gerrymandering currently still makes even landslide victories often difficult to translate into state and local elections.
There are opportunities too, a new census and redistricting opportunities, can help to make the maps fairer, and support for increased voting rights, can help the vote reflect the populous. Yes, there will be opportunities for Democrats if they are bold enough to take the mandate that they will hopefully receive, and push big political action. We know, however, that the Democrats won't be doing this on their own. There is no chance that they are going to fight for the types of big change that we know people want: Medicare for all, a green new deal, a $15 hour minimum wage, and on and on and on. We have talked about so many policies that the Democratic party should take on, in order to deliver for the people who elected them.
The danger is that the Democrats won't take advantage of this opportunity, but they will instead try to go back to some kind of fantastical image of normal, from a before Trump, when everything was right in the world, or so they say. People might find such a pitch more attractive for now than the madness that is the Trump era, but when 80% of people are dissatisfied and you have to go back a decade to get these levels of dissatisfaction you have a big problem, that returning to “normal” won’t change. Without pursuing major changes in the policies, the rules, the representation, and fundamentally how responsive government is to the people, Democrats will be sowing the seeds of their own destruction.
Unfortunately, we know that the Democrats won't do this on their own, they will be fine sowing that poisonous crop, so we at DSOT, we on the side that supports positions held by a majority of Americans, we have to join together, we have to demand change, we have to organize! We have to be out there every week to make sure we outlast the powers that are going to demand normalcy, demand de-politicization, and demand a return back to do nothing government! We cannot allow that to happen, this has got to be opportunity for change, an opportunity for something new! We have to take the chaos of the Trump era, the fear of what is happening going forward, and the desire to change the direction this country and use that energy to create a future which represent all of us, not just the few!
Of course all of this assumes we keep the forms of our Democracy intact. So first make sure you get out and vote! Then join us every Tuesday, in growing solidarity and power until we take back our democracy from amoral special interests, and greedy politicians: Don't Shop on Tuesdays!
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