Tuesday open thread: Time to man- and woman-up

Look, my friends, I know. It's scary. 

We all want the world to conform itself to its better angels. We often can't understand why so many people choose chaos, animus, and hatred. We don't see how that's any kind of life to lead, where you are subsumed by wanting to dominate and control anyone who isn't you. This is not a life any of us would choose, wrapped up in hate and invective. We are, by nature, peaceful people, who just want everyone to live by the words of the philosopher from Minnesota: Mind your own damned business.

The past week to ten days have seen Democrats do what Democrats all too often do: Descend from joy and enthusiasm into despair and worry. We obsess over the polls. We obsess over what Pundit A has to say. Nothing has changed in the ether. The race is as it has always been: tight, favoring Vice President Kamala Harris, nothing in the bag yet. 

But for too many of us on this side of the aisle, we revert to fear. We revert to thinking, "No, we can't win, the opposition is evil and will stop at nothing, they will always pull it out in the end."

Except, well, they haven't.

The political record since 2017 has been one of almost-uninterrupted Democratic success. Even the 2022 midterms turned out to be a damp squib, with the GOP "winning" an ungovernable, slim majority, reliant on the Democratic minority to keep the lights on, while the Senate remained in Democratic control.

Yes, I, too, would welcome Democratic dominance in the presidency and legislature. And there's a good chance we will have that come November 5th. But we won't get there by being afraid of our own shadows. We won't get there looking at every poll as "the last word" on matters. We won't get there if we give in to the fear and bile coming out of the Trumpian camp.

We have to be mentally tough. We have to act like winners. We have to be like successful sports teams who not only have a winning attitude, but work to make that attitude reality.

Our greatest failing as Democrats is our moroseness. Our belief that things will inevitably turn for the worse. That no one wants what we're selling.

That last bit couldn't be further from the truth. Democratic policies are vote-winners. To the extent that they're not, it's due to our own inability to trumpet just how good our policies will be for everyone. Yes, even your uncle Chester who goes on and on about "those women who were men and are still men, goddammit." Even your aunt Flo who wails about "the alien invasion". (She's not talking about Vulcans, who we could use right about now.) "Mind your own damned business" goes a long way toward fashioning a civilized society. Chester and Flo believe what they believe, in part, because too many of us are so timorous, wanting to please everyone.

We have to realize that we can't please everyone. But we can reach a lot of people whom we might think unreachable. Few want Big Brother, for example, banning porn. Few want to have their every move tracked. The GOP is not the party of personal freedom; we are. As long as it hurts no one, we don't care what you believe. I don't care what pronouns you use, nor do I care to foist pronouns on anyone who sees that as weird. At some point, if we are to survive as a species, we have to live and let live.

Now, this has limits. If your ideology rests on oppression, then that's a no-go. As Democrats we also have to be clear that "mind your own business" doesn't mean ignoring hatred. Yes, you can hate your trans neighbor. But you have no right to express that hatred to your neighbor's detriment. You have the personal freedom to not accept that neighbor. You don't have the freedom to abuse them or revile them. "Mind your own business" means keep it to yourself. This may make you a very solitary person, lost in your own hate. But that's your choice. I won't try to change you. But I will defend that neighbor.

It's way past time to stop being fearful. To stop being enslaved to the past. Be proud of what you believe. State it clearly and without shame when asked. Be the example of the world you wish to create. Man-up. Woman-up. Fortune favors the bold, not the timid. We have a world to save. Let's fucking ride.

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