Good News!

A huge sense of relief followed by a strong dose of hope that the future is not inevitably dismal.  That was my reaction to the news that Biden was leaving and Harris would be the likely successor.

It is early days, but it seems that the party will rally around Kamala and when she starts going after Trump it will truly be a new ball game.  I am counting on a well managed, hard hitting campaign that will appeal to now-undecided voters, young people, Black women and others now on the fence.  Should the campaign not be strong all bets are off and we will likely be left with a Trump victory.

So for the first time in a long while, my political mood is positive.  Definitely a good feeling!

A Positive View!

Howard Zinn was an historian and educator.  My daughter recently sent me something he said that I want to share with you.  We had been talking about how bad things have become and I expressed a sense of resignation that the world was going to improve.  What Zinn said didn't relieve all of my concerns, but I found it a useful point of view:

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic.  It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion,  sacrifice, courage, kindness.  What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives.  If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.  If we remember those times and places - and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some good utopian future.  The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

 

Out of Patience!

I'm out of patience with Joe Biden.  Its now about his ego, not saving the country from the convicted sociopath.  He's living in an out-of-date world that values the plucky underdog who won't give up.  For sure his cognition isn't what it ought to be, but take that and add to it the out-of-touch psychology of this guy and his collaborating family and you've got a toxic mix that guarantees they will be defeated.

I'm ten years older than Biden and fortunately am not in a cognitive decline.  So I can see the world as a generational peer of Biden, and it doesn't look rosy.  I would not turn over the power to run things to our generation.  Even if we're in good shape, a younger group with some future still available is a better choice.

I am under no illusion that Biden will see beyond his ego and step aside.  Too bad for us all!