In this Christmas season, there are things that matter in today's political scene, and there are things that don't.
Let's take each in turn.
Things that matter
The collective weight of evidence matters. The law matters. History matters.
The Democrats, as they have sworn an oath to do, are doing their constitutional duty. They did not swear to do this if it's convenient, or if it's politically expedient, or if the end result is guaranteed to be successful.
Their duty is to impeach if the evidence is there, regardless of what the Senate chooses to do or not do.
Doing their duty matters.
Things that don't matter
Partisan politics don't matter. Trump's tweets don't matter. The opinions of talking heads on TV don't matter.
What you can do
Pay attention, not because it will enable you to say "I knew something terrible would happen" but because you give a damn and refuse to blindly march off the cliff into the abyss.
Remember that those putting democracy at risk relish your despair, feast on your world-weary cynicism, exult in your hopelessness.
They want you to believe that nothing matters, that nothing can be done, that there will never be any accountability, that a slide into authoritarianism and oligarchy is inevitable.
And of course they do. Depressed sheep shuffle into their pens without protest. Engaged citizens do not.
As Americans, we have grown accustomed to a government that more or less runs itself without leaning too far to the Right or Left. We're used to complaining bitterly about the small stuff, with blithe confidence that the big stuff wouldn't ever really be an issue because we're America and that crap only happens in other countries.
But, the situation now is different. And in this situation, blind pessimism is as useless as blind optimism.
Evidence matters.
The law matters.
History matters.
Our attitudes –– yours, mine, everybody's –– matters.
Thanks for listening. Merry Christmas everyone.
Let's take each in turn.
Things that matter
The collective weight of evidence matters. The law matters. History matters.
The Democrats, as they have sworn an oath to do, are doing their constitutional duty. They did not swear to do this if it's convenient, or if it's politically expedient, or if the end result is guaranteed to be successful.
Their duty is to impeach if the evidence is there, regardless of what the Senate chooses to do or not do.
Doing their duty matters.
Things that don't matter
Partisan politics don't matter. Trump's tweets don't matter. The opinions of talking heads on TV don't matter.
What you can do
Pay attention, not because it will enable you to say "I knew something terrible would happen" but because you give a damn and refuse to blindly march off the cliff into the abyss.
Remember that those putting democracy at risk relish your despair, feast on your world-weary cynicism, exult in your hopelessness.
They want you to believe that nothing matters, that nothing can be done, that there will never be any accountability, that a slide into authoritarianism and oligarchy is inevitable.
And of course they do. Depressed sheep shuffle into their pens without protest. Engaged citizens do not.
As Americans, we have grown accustomed to a government that more or less runs itself without leaning too far to the Right or Left. We're used to complaining bitterly about the small stuff, with blithe confidence that the big stuff wouldn't ever really be an issue because we're America and that crap only happens in other countries.
But, the situation now is different. And in this situation, blind pessimism is as useless as blind optimism.
Evidence matters.
The law matters.
History matters.
Our attitudes –– yours, mine, everybody's –– matters.
Thanks for listening. Merry Christmas everyone.
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