Where are they?

I constantly here that “Progressives” only come out of the woodwork during the presidential elections. That isn't true, we just don't get the air time that mainstream politicians get. We spend our non-presidential years slugging away in the local and state races, swaying the minds of the voters to see our causes, and to support those same causes. Then every presidential election cycle we become more vocal at the national level, because we understand that the president or nominee of the party is the voice of the party, they lead the party.

I hear about how progressives are destroying among many, many other things while surfing social media. Honestly, it is a sad state of affairs right now. We have antisemites, homophobes, white supremacists, and a host of other things roaming the streets at night, and in the day, unafraid, unabashed, uncaring. We are seeing levels of income inequality that rival third world nations. We are currently in the throws of a healthcare debate in which three clear sides are in movement towards their endgames. We have conservatives who want to pull the plug on the PPACA, repeal without replacing, or repeal and replacing with what we had. We have some who want to continue a failing program, because while it addressed one problem, it ignored a host of others. Finally we have a group that wants a single payer system. All the while, I am seeing the Democratic Party fragment, unable to cohesively fight against the encroaching insanity of super conservative politics.

I see finger wagging, without thought. I remember back before the primaries being told people of my ilk were not needed, not wanted. Now, I see those same people blaming others for taking the approach some of us did, we walked away. We weren't needed, until we were, and we weren't there. Now, we are supposed to drop everything and run back, all forgiven, all forgotten, all together, and are admonished for saying, “I'll think about it.”

You know, I personally see the threat, I see it every time I leave my house. I see it every Saturday at the growing “Heritage not hate” rallies held in town. I see it on social media with hashtags I refuse to repeat. I see it in news articles talking about how Jewish people are amping up security for our houses of worship, I mean seriously, armed security in Charlottesville after protesters, some armed, while carrying torches, and chanting slogans from nazi Germany, in 2017... Synagogues issuing guest passes to people who would like to observe our traditions. A place that was thought of as free from persecution.

I am sighing now as I write this, because its utterly shameful. At some point, the Clinton wing and Sanders wing will likely reconcile their differences, but not for now. And certainly not until the parties involved in mud throwing change their tone. As of right now, we see their side of it, stop Trump, but they cannot see our side of it, they do not want to. Its beyond their grasp that our view of Clinton, and her peers are part of the problem. That we cannot allow the constant droning of the corporate powers that be to continue, that what is best for business is not what is best for the environment or the people. They want to go back into the magical bubble in which politics as usual should be just enough to keep the majority of people* complacent and happy, because that is when they were likely happy. The illusion everything is great, everything is fine. I have said before that the 90's were great on the surface, but under it things were going horribly wrong. The booming economy masked the looming doom. It hid the racism, homophobia, antisemitism, and other things that we are seeing today.

*Well the majority of people, and screw those on the fringe, because those people are likely horrible, small minded, hateful ignorant people. No, I really mean that. But on the flip side to that, those people, those are the ones who are so insecure about their own kind, that they are compelled to inflict misery upon others.