Don’t misunderstand. I still subscribe to the New York Times and the Washington Post. It’s just that – where I used to spend up to two hours reading them every day – I now have my fill after about 20 minutes of headline skimming.
And don’t get me wrong. I still maintain that every adult human being whose basic Maslow’s needs have been met must actively seek to understand and be involved in their world. It’s just that knowing all the details neither helps me grasp reality, nor helpfully informs the actions I take to try and make things better.
I cannot stomach and do not benefit the least from the blow-by-blow of GOP tax legislation. Likewise, I see no positive outcome for me or the planet if I read a thousandth article about someone’s president’s latest escapade. I already know the theme and have determined that’s good enough. (I apologize to some of my favorite columnists: I’m sure your piece today finds some new way to tell the sordid tale, but the same sordid tale it remains.)
The turning point for me came months after the 2016 election. It wasn’t until the reality of GOP evil and irresponsibility had sunk in that I finally gave up. Until then, I assumed that Republicans valued our country and constitution. I counted on at least some in the GOP holding the president accountable. But it just ain’t so. In pursuit of Ayn Randian dreams and in celebration of power, there is nothing too low for the party of racism, fascism, misogyny, Russophilia, and hostile retreat from the world.
So – as I have written – there is only one project that matters in 2018: booting Republicans out of power at every level and in every state. Nothing. Else. Matters. And I don’t need to read the daily paper cover-to-cover either to understand this or to fuel my persistent engagement in this project at the local, county, and state level.
Here is another thing that has changed for me. I used to say there could be Republicans of honor and goodwill, even if they were the minority of the party. I know longer believe that. Every single person in the United States who still calls themselves a Republican is as evil as every single one of their elected officials and their president. I can respect and engage with principled conservatives. There are none of these creatures left.
Please, 2018: deliver us the obliteration of the Republican Party. If we can’t have it all at once, at least be the beginning of a longer process that produces a responsible conservative party. The Democrats should win first and then face some healthy competition.
©2018 Keith Berner
Advertisements &b; &b;
