Young people are being trolled into believing that change isn't possible - at the same time change is happening.
If you read online, which is bad for your mental health, you will see postings from supposed young leftists who chime, "Biden is no better than Trump! Might as well not bother voting!" But of course, this nonsense isn't from Americans, but our friends in Russia, who are hoping to elect Trump, so they can win the war in Ukraine. Right there is a good reason not to vote for Trump. America should not be a puppet state for a failed Communist country.
Granted, there are some on the far, far left who really believe this nonsense. Unless student loans are forgiven right away and we have nationalize health care right now, there is no point in engaging in the system - just overthrow it!
But the history of revolutions is spotty. The Russian revolution was supposed to liberate the serfs and make everyone equal. Tens of millions of the "liberated" people either starved to death or were lined up against a wall and shot. We are still dealing with the fallout from that "revolution" today. No, revolutions never quite work out the way you think they will. Even Robespierre had his turn at the Guillotine.
Our own revolution promised freedom for white male landowners - and no one else. It took another 250 years of incremental change to get us to where we are today. And Republicans want to reverse a lot of these changes, too! Meanwhile, Democrats keep chipping away at things, slowly bringing about change in a manner that most don't notice. Young people, not having lived as long, don't see the dramatic changes of just the last few decades. To them, things are as they always have been - and not changing fast enough!
But we are making progress, in dribs and drabs - and this is far superior to revolutions or Trumpism, either of which would destroy our country.
President Biden is said to have a low approval rating and isn't getting anything done in Washington. But most of his agenda so far has been slowing down and reversing the "changes" enacted during the Trump administration - hampered in part by the judiciary which has been stacked with far-right judges with questionable legal credentials.
But a lot of important changes are taking place.
Just last week, the "net neutrality" regulations were reinstated - ensuring that your internet service provider won't slow down streaming services from competing networks - forcing you to watch their drivel instead. A big deal? Maybe not, but it is one of those incremental changes, undoing a small piece of evil that Republicans fought for.
Similarly, the FTC banned "non-compete" agreements for ordinary employees. Again, Republicans wanted to enslave workers, preventing them from taking a better job at better pay (or just getting away from an abusive boss). Unless you changed careers or moved far away, such agreements could lock you into one job for life. For an ordinary employee, such agreements make no sense - but some employers tried to use them to keep hourly employees captive. It just isn't right and the Biden administration fixed that.
If you've been reading my blog, you will know that I am ambivalent about student loan forgiveness. So much is left unsaid. Would we forgive loans going forward as well? What about those who struggled to pay their loans back? Is it right to bail out specific groups, whether they are students or banks? Maybe forgiving loans is attacking the symptom of the problem of higher education, and not the underlying cause - the staggering increase in the price of college in the last 20 years.
All that being said, you can't blame young people for feeling put upon by staggering student loan debt, which they want forgiven now. Biden tried, but the Supreme Court - stacked with Trump nominees, shot him down. But every month, it seems, Biden has found a way to wipe out the debts of more and more borrowers. Yes, it is an incremental approach, but it is yielding results - just not as fast as some people would like.
Bear in mind the alternative is no results.
The list goes on and on. A few regulations here, a scant few new laws there (that were not shot down by Republicans, even if they agreed with them!) and change occurs, gradually. Being older, I can see how these cumulative effects result in major changes. Legalized marijuana? I never thought I would see that in my lifetime! Gay marriage? Try explaining that to me back in 1990, and I would have laughed in your face. In America? Right, Buddy!
Attempts to fix the flaws in Obamacare have been stymied at every turn by Republicans, who will vote down a bill they like just so Democrats can't score a "win." In the mail today is a postcard from a far-right Congressman seeking re-election, claiming Biden has "done nothing" to stem the "invasion" at our border (even though border crossings are far lower today than under Trump). Not mentioned in his screed is why this Congressman voted down the border bill. The reason is, so he can claim Biden "did nothing." Meanwhile he takes credit for infrastructure improvements and new semiconductor plants that are the result of the Infrastructure Bill and the CHIP act - both of which he voted against.
Biden is getting things done, and when he does, Republicans take credit for it.
Apparently, Republican voters are just too damn stupid to figure this out - their candidates flatly lie to them - lies that are easily checked, too - and they just believe the lies, anyway. I guess you can expect that - from Seniors in The Villages who are halfway into dementia and spend all day forwarding memes from facebook. Or the redneck in the trailer park, putting straight pipes on his Harley and his RAM truck, mumbling about his "free-dum" as he polishes his AR-15 and pines for civil war.
But young people? People who claim to be liberals or even leftists? They are willing to see a fascist get elected, even though they themselves profess to be "Antifa" or anti-fascist? The cognitive dissonance of the far left is the same as the far-right - which is often why, I guess, people say if you go far enough in one direction, you end up on the other side.
We saw this last time around, with "Bernie Bros" turning into Trumpers, because they thought it was "edgy" or something. This time around, though, it isn't funny. Republicans are flat-out saying that if you elect Trump this fall, you'll never have to worry about voting again as they will install a dictatorship and start assassinating anyone who opposes them. This is not far-fetched rhetoric, it is exactly what they are saying. Believe them!
They already tried to overturn a fair election - once through deception and illegal acts, and once again by brute force. Fortunately, calmer heads - among them, traditional Republicans - prevailed. Most of those calmer heads have been voted out of office or have retired. What happens next time around?
The reason "not much gets done" is that people don't vote, particularly in local elections and in off-year contests. Many people only vote once every four years, if that, during Presidential campaigns. But who is elected to your State legislature and Governor's mansion is as important - if not moreso - than who is in the White House. State legislatures determined districts - by gerrymandering - which insures that Republicans, who are a minority party have a majority in the House of Representatives. The Electoral College gives more Presidential races to Republicans than the popular vote would have allowed.
And once in power, they can stuff the courts to insure their policies will remain unchanged, even when out of office. Remember how Mitch McConnell denied Obama a chance to nominate a Supreme Court Justice, perversely citing the "Biden Rule" (which never existed). That is outright subversion of Democracy. Too late, McConnell is having second thoughts about the monster he was partially responsible for creating. Frankenstein's monster has left the building.
Change is occurring - and in fact, it is what is fueling the fires of discontent on the far-right. And by far-right, I don't mean political parties or politicians. One problem we are facing are people who are scared by the thought that a woman is more than a baby-maker or sex-toy. The idea that a woman should be paid as well as a man - and have similar opportunities - scares them to death. What's next? Equal rights for minorities?
We are seeing a push-back by people who subscribe to "red pill" thinking, or "second amendment rights" or whatever. People who are leaning into violence, racism, sexism, and a whole host of dark thinking. Sadly, these folks are openly calling for civil war and the armed overthrow of the government. And who's to say they might actually do it.
People talk about going back in time and smothering baby Hitler in the crib - or somehow turning the tide of public opinion in Germany long before 1939. "If only..." they say, "history would be different!" Well, here's a chance to make a difference - change the world, avert disaster, and smother baby Hitler in the crib.
And yet, some folks say that it makes no difference. Why bother? Trump isn't all that bad! Biden isn't any better, they claim. Similar things were said in Germany back in the 1930s. Hitler will solve the crime problem and put those commies in jail! The end result, a decade later, was utter ruin of their country and millions wiped out.
We can stop that from happening again - if we choose to.
Again, I suspect a lot of these "people" posting these messages that "bOth PArTiEs aRE THe SaMe!" are Russian trolls or even bots. But as we have seen in recent years, a lot of people are influenced by influencers online. I am not sure why people believe every word of some dork staring into their phone and blathering on about how vaccines are fake or whatever, but they do believe it. I have to keep an eye on Mr. See as he watches YouTube videos which are little more than plugs for commercial products (and pretty obvious ones at that). We are all susceptible to influence.
So it is likely - certain - that at least a few people out there are buying into the "both sides the same" argument and are not thinking of the real differences in the parties and the changes that have occurred over the years. More change will come, if the right people are elected. If the wrong people are elected, well, the change we have seen will be undone.
And you don't have to believe me about this - they flat-out have promised to do this.
