What should be simple and straightforward is silly and sad

I have to say that I get this sense of “Where have you been?”

Over and over, year after year, cycle after cycle, administration after administration I see progressives who I otherwise respect, think highly of, express dejection, depression, lamentation, disappointment, disillusionment . . .

“Poor thing, I feel badly about your depression, but . . . ”

Where have you been? What part of clear is not clear to you?

https://jacobinmag.com/2020/08/joe-biden-dnc-trump-election-democratic-convention

“To be demoralized is to make the mistake I made during my recent family break — to read Ron Suskind’s old book Confidence Men. That tome meticulously recounts Barack Obama and Biden promising real health care reform during the 2008 campaign, and then steamrolling a public option — and dishonestly pretending they never even pushed such a modest reform in the first place.”

David Sirota is too smart to keep getting his Hopes up about Change. It was clear to (how many of?) us in college fifty years ago that the Democratic Party is simply part of the problem and not part of the solution.

It’s not complex. They’re better, but not by an order of magnitude. On a scale of 1 to 100 the Republicans suck at 12 (Hitler and Mussolini are at 1 or perhaps 0.5). The Democrats are at 21. They suck less but they suck. If the dial doesn’t move up to 65 in the near future we’re toast.

AOC merits a 65, but she’s surrounded by 21’s. One of these 65 types must break away — and shake up the system.

The Democratic Party upholds a system where inequality is ingrained and always has been; racial oppression is ingrained and always has been; militarism is ingrained and always has been; social and ecological irresponsibility is ingrained and always has been. Can we point to a time during the history of the country when systemic transformation was on the agenda of the Dems or the Reps? No. And so it’s been inequality, oppression, militarism, irresponsibility no matter which of the duopolist parties has been in power.

The society is heading toward what James Howard Kunstler calls a “Long Emergency.” The Democratic Party has been in power half the time since the duopoly congealed 150 years ago. It was clear to us in the sixties that malaise has always been the norm. Can anyone think that’s all the fault of the 50% of the time the Republicans have been in power?

Both parties are responsible for where things stand. And they stand in a problematic place. The problematic place is attributable to the establishment loyalty of both parties.

So . . .

Why the continual illusions followed by demoralizations? Over and over, year after year, cycle after cycle, administration after administration. It’s silly and sad.