Answering The Dead, And Goodbye

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-23-2008
Answering The Dead, And Goodbye
30
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 2:24pm
Hello, all! I've already posted a couple wrap-up thoughts in other threads already, but for anyone who wasn't reading those particular threads, I've been gone since election day. My wife had a business conference to attend in our old stomping grounds of San Francisco, so since we had a hotel suite and one plane ticket already paid for, we cashed in a few frequent-flier miles and headed out there with her on election day, Nov. 4, for an on-the-cheap mini-vacation.

I'll never turn down a chance to spend time in SF, but this occasion was particularly sweet: to be able to spend election night in an Irish pub in the theater district, watching results roll in, and to hear the timbers of the place literally rumble at the cheer that went up when CNN called it for Obama....that was something special. But it DID pull me away from most Internet access for the duration of our trip, and I just got back last night. I'd have liked to post this last Wednesday, after the results were mostly in, but couldn't really do it remotely, so it's had to wait until now.

I'm a Apple Mac user, and as such, I follow three or four Mac-focused blogs which deal with stuff that no one who's NOT a Mac user would have much interest in: software updates, news and gossip from Apple, etc. Boring techno-weenie stuff. Anyway, on November 4th, election day, this post appeared on one of these Mac-focused blogs I read. I'm sharing it with you unedited as the "answering the dead" portion of this post, because it pretty well perfectly captured my thoughts that night, as I sat in that Irish pub in San Francisco ("the dead" in this case being a question that the late, great Hunter S. Thompson almost certainly meant rhetorically, when he asked it in print on election day, 1972):


A Fantastic Monument
Wednesday, 5 November 2008

Hunter S. Thompson, September 1972:




The polls also indicate that Nixon will get a comfortable majority
of the Youth Vote. And that he might carry all fifty states.



Well, maybe so. This may be the year when we finally come face to
face with ourselves: finally just lay back and say it — that we
are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all
the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing
anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.



The tragedy of all this is that George McGovern, for all his
mistakes and all his imprecise talk about “new politics” and
“honesty in government”, is one of the few men who’ve run for
President of the United States in this century who really
understands what a fantastic monument to all the best instincts of
the human race this country might have been, if we could have kept
it out of the hands of greedy little hustlers like Richard Nixon.



McGovern made some stupid mistakes, but in context they seem
almost frivolous compared to the things Richard Nixon does every
day of his life, on purpose, as a matter of policy and a perfect
expression of everything he stands for.



Jesus! Where will it end?




It ends here, today.



I love this country.





Yup. Me, too, Messrs Thompson and Gruber. Me, too. Which brings me to the second part of my post ("Goodbye"):

I have no idea how many people even care at all by now, but it's perhaps the worst-kept secret on this board that yes, this is Lars - larcenous, phenobarbarella, various other names, LOL. I've been here off and on (mostly on) under various names (though never more than one at a time) since just after the 2004 elections. In that time, I've been witness to an astonishing amount of mean-spirited lunacy and sarcasm, as well as brinkmanship with regards to TOS (people who've figured out how to get their loathing across while stopping JUST shy of having their posts pulled as TOS violations). It's left a bad taste in my mouth for literally years now, and I've no doubt that I would have left such an environment quite some time ago, were I simply left to my own devices.

But I stayed, through various incarnations, because I truly believed that it was do-or-die time in America; that we were (are) at a pivotal, crucial point in our history. In America's short history, we seem to have had quite a few of such points, but in my estimation, these last years since 9/11 have definitely been one of the more significant of them. And I noticed that every time I opened up the main iVillage message boards page, this particular board was featured prominently, often at the very top of the debate boards category. I'm guessing that's not arbitrary; I'm sure iVillage puts them up there at least partially as a reflection of how much traffic a given board gets. So I was keenly aware that people were watching this board; many were posting quite a bit, and probably an even greater number of silent lurkers were watching what went on here.

I also knew that, although politics and dishonesty have gone hand in hand from time immemorial, the particular strain of reality-denying and opinions-as-good-as-facts (or often, in PLACE OF facts) nonsense that's been perfected by the GOP intentionally in recent years was at its zenith under George W. Bush. Worse, with the Democrats apparently too worried about looking "weak on national security" or afraid of losing their seats or perks, there wasn't a good, cohesive narrative in place to rebut the flood of GOP mendacity, and the re-election of George Bush even AFTER what had already been revealed before November 2004 made me think that in that near-total vacuum of opposition, regular (non-political) people were starting to BELIEVE this junk, because they didn't see anything ELSE which told them it wasn't true.

And so from a combination of personal traits (loving a good debate, stubbornness, ego, whatever) and the realization that there was SUCH a flood, here on this board, not just of opinions which differed from my own, but also of flat out intentional falsehoods and obfuscation, I decided that one of the places I could possibly make a difference was right here, trying in my own way to beat back the flood-tide of falsehoods and nonsense which seemed, sadly, to have become the omnipresent stock-in-trade of too much of the modern GOP.

I've no idea whether my efforts helped or hurt, or had any effect whatsoever. Lord knows I chose a questionable path going about pursuing my goals, for reasons which need not be re-enumerated now. And I certainly heard from no small number of people whose ox had been gored, and who felt (rightly or wrongly) that I shouldn't be doing what I was doing - or shouldn't be doing it the WAY I was doing it. Truth be told, I've grown steadily less fond of the person I've intentionally become on this board over time. I say that not as an apology, or as a statement of belief that I did something wrong, but instead as a final recognition that I knew quite well not only OTHERS were doing, but what I was doing, as well. And perhaps as a retroactive wish that I'd been able to see a better way to make the same impact that I felt I needed to try to make, without resorting to feeling like "fire with fire" was the only realistic way to accomplish it. Call it a failure of creativity, I guess.

Does that last paragraph sound self-serving? Hang on, lemme check.....well, I just re-read it and yes, it sure does. It sounds like the rationalization of someone who either fears or knows he's behaved badly, but doesn't want anyone to think ill of him for his actions. I suppose that ship has sailed . However, regardless of how craven it sounds, even to my own ears (I can only imagine how it sounds to others), it's nonetheless true: I DON'T particularly like either this place, or the persona I've become on it, and that's one of the major reasons I'm leaving ("love it or leave it," LOL!). I have been on other boards where, although there was always spirited and at times even rancorous debate, including yelling and hurt feelings, I'd never seen the kind of entrenched spite, bitterness and above all, lack of willingness to grant even a belief in the basic humanity of "the opposition" - and the atrocious treatment which accompanies that, which seems to be endemic here.

Once upon a time, I thought such an atmosphere could be dissipated by a strong enough, determined enough effort by a few people to change the tone, like a strong breeze blowing stale air out of a room. It wasn't about political outlook or ideology, but more fundamentally about basic treatment of one another and the "rules of engagement," if you will. Unfortunately, as must be obvious, I no longer believe that, and I haven't believed it for a while now. In fact, the rise of my own behavior of which I'm not particularly fond can probably be traced exactly in inverse proportion to the period when my belief that such an atmosphere COULD be changed began to diminish. What's different? Why am I leaving now?

We won.

Oh, I know there'll be another set of congressional elections in only two years, and that this sort of larger ideological struggle is a neverending human phenomenon. But last Tuesday, I think we answered - if not fully, then at least resoundingly - Hunter Thompson's rhetorical question of "when will it end?" I think that the current, corrosive leadership/philosophy of the GOP, and more importantly, its hold on the attention and actions of the greater American public, has been broken. It's been broken mostly through the public's shocked realizations which have come in the wake of being forced to confront the notion that yes, we DO torture, and we DO spy on our own....and the subsequent weird, disorienting sensations and realizations of "I don't recognize this anymore" which accompany such things. But whatever the combination of reasons, last Tuesday, the citizens spoke quite loudly, and what they said was that those realizations - however unpleasant they may have been - have come. And although we've a LONG way to go, we're ready to buckle down and try to get there, reminding each other along the way, as necessary, that what unites us is stronger than what divides us. We saw it even more starkly during and after the civil war, and we will probably see it again in another guise. But the arc of the moral universe does, indeed, bend toward justice.

And, in the interim, I no longer feel the sense of urgency I did before Tuesday about trying frantically to push as hard as I could to help this moment along. It is HERE now, and there's nothing I -- OR any of the GOP -- can do about it. Though there'll undoubtedly be plenty of opportunities for "spirited debate" down the road, as things truly get underway, I feel we've stepped back from the edge at least a bit, and that the forces of sanity have - for now, anyway - the upper hand. It's lovely to realize that I feel like I don't HAVE to care about what sort of lie Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly may have told, or whose vote it might be influencing. Or who might have posted it up here with an ALLCAPS header wondering whether Obama is using hypnosis on his "followers" or what have you. I don't care! And, at least for the short-term, I don't HAVE to care. John Amato over at Crooks and Liars put it best:

Thanks for the memories, but you were all completely "Irrelevant" during the historic victory that Barack Obama achieved during 2008 Presidential election. All your smears failed to change the course of history.


Bill-Kristol_5bb40.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Hannity_0ad02.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Karl-Rove-HC_2ac5a.jpg


"Irrelevant"



Dick-Morris-TOF_58f51.jpg


"Irrelevant"


RushLimbaugh_379c9.jpg


"Irrelevant"


MattDrudge-HC_cf3fa.jpg


"Irrelevant"


BillO'Reilly_fc77f.jpg


"Irrelevant"


AnnCoulter_7c99a.jpg


"Irrelevant"


BrentBozell_e5d47.jpg


(The list keeps growing. More below the fold.)



"Irrelevant"


Frank-Luntz-phd_18e5c.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Michelle-Malkin_d1f42.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Pat-Buchanan_51b9e.jpg


"Irrelevant"


William-Bennett_5bbe2.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Glenn-Beck_7b706.jpg


"Irrelevant"



Laura-Ingraham-Billo_59907.jpg


"Irrelevant"


OliverNorth_bb3db.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Jonuh2_fb8da.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Alex-Castellanos_292d1.jpg


"Irrelevant"


Dennis-Miller_7767e.jpg


"Irrelevant"


joe-Lieberman_f6899.jpg




Amato also closes his post by saying that the above guys made conservatism itself irrelevant, and in that, I think he overreaches. But I also think I might know what he was trying to say: that the sort of mendacious, facts-don't-matter, laws-don't-matter, precedent-doesn't-matter, WE-make-history version of conservatism which has had a death-grip on the Grand Old Party since at least the days of Reagan, peaking here in the Bush years, has finally, at long last, become irrelevant. Or at least, I fervently hope so. Enough so, at any rate, that I feel like I can step back from whatever good I thought I might have been doing (whether or not I actually was). To crib shamelessly from one of my favorite bloggers, BlueGal:

There was a time when conservatives were, in my opinion, wrong about everything, but you could interpret facts differently from them and be right without necessarily dismissing them as insane. I really hope we can get back to that kind of honest debate. It was intoxicating.


Heck yeah, it was. And I'm hopeful - not certain, but hopeful - that we have maybe, just maybe, begun a return to that sort of political environment. If the numbers of disgruntled independents, and even more importantly, REPUBLICANS, who switched over to vote for Obama are any indication, hopefully we're - for the time being, anyway - past that terribly destructive flavor of rancor and spite. Either way, I'm not going to be sticking around to see how it pans out here. I'm sure there are no small number of people who're thrilled to hear that, and probably an even greater number who think "who cares?" If anyone DOES want to reach me for anything, don't use my profile link (it's dead), try me at ivillager.15.lazzarus@spamgourmet.com - and if not, then have a great life (lives!). Some of you folks are truly luminous beings from whom I've learned a great deal, and whom I'm proud to say I've "known," even if only in this digital-only way....and I think those of you who've stuck it out here who fit that description know who you are. :o)

Adios, amigos. Oh, and.....for any truly die-hard Rovian conservatives, click on the picture of Nelson in my siggy for my final thoughts for you re: the election/a farewell message. ;o)



Konichiwa, Bitches!
McCain LOST???


Konichiwa, Bitches!
McCain LOST???

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 12:02am
"Call it a failure"

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 6:43am

n/t

"The one advantage of playing with fire...is that no one ever gets singed. It is the people who don't know how to play with it who get burned up."

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 7:32am

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 9:32am

I understand:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHPgGDBMqAQ&feature=related


"Enough already!"


That was my point exactly.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 10:04am

AWE that took guts...... May you grow over those episodes soon.


Have a nice day.



 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 10:10am

Great video.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 10:14am

Keep trying, that point is whooshing *just* out of reach for you, I know.


We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. 

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 10:17am

Oh, and, because it is so important to you,

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 10:20am

OY! No need for a ladder! I have no problem jumping down that gap to where you reside.


Are you done now?

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2008
Thu, 11-13-2008 - 10:26am
OH........ mý last word

 

 

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