this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2024
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United States | News & Politics
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Finally, some better news in the home front.
But news and polls don't matter - what matters is actually voting.
In fact, you don't even have to follow any infotainment, which is still bad for your mental health, and you already have ALL the information and infotainment you need to act correctly:
TUNE OUT, SPEAK SOFTLY, VOTE DEMOCRAT IN NOVEMBER
No, what actually matters is not being forced to live in constant dread before I get to vote and this is finally over. So how about you fuck off thanks.
I almost admire the way you've distilled Democratic messaging down to it's very essence. "Don't think, just vote. All media but captured mainstream sources are infotainment and will make you sad, so only listen to the vapid elites!"
Sure, yes, please, everyone vote for the Democrata this fall. But this messaging is everything that led to the rise of Trump and his band of fascists in the first place.
Ok, I'll bite.
What I am saying is that right-wing political propaganda is everywhere you look, and it is not designed to inform, but to manipulate via cherry-picked half-facts and outright lies, appealing to emotions. And the 24-hour "news" cycle, in its' mindless algorithm-driven quest to grab eyeballs, is constantly looking for soundbites and manufactured drama to crank out and amplify. And that includes a HUGE amount of divide-and-conquer bOtH pArTiEs ArE tHe SaMe LoL aMiRiTe bullshit.
I've been paying attention to republican words and actions since around their hypocritical, totally manufactured Clinton impeachment political circus. That's around a quarter of a century. It also coincides with the rise of assholes like murdoch and limbaugh, their spreading from the airwaves to online and social media.
The ONLY thing you will find there is greed, ignorance and dysfunction, a constant diet of red meat until what you get is the tail wagging the rabid dog.
There is no need to normalize this constant barrage. You want to know what Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden or Kamala Harris stand for? Look at their voting record while in previous posts. Apply context of the times and how they've learned and changed, and accept them as imperfect humans, not as the plastic political reality-television figurines projected everywhere you look, because that's all just shallow but incredibly loud noise.
All the information you EVER need to vote Democrat every single time, until these fascist republican assholes fizzle out and stop being a clear and present danger, you already have. For the sake of your mental and emotional health:
TUNE OUT, SPEAK SOFTLY, VOTE DEMOCRAT EVERY NOVEMBER.
Right wing political propaganda is indeed everywhere, and that is a serious problem. However, encouraging citizens to "TUNE OUT" media in general is the opposite of a solution. The ONLY defense against misinformation is an informed public. Propaganda thrives in ignorance.
You attempt to sidestep this by suggesting that people look just at voting records, but that is a far from complete solution. First of all, voting records exist in the "everywhere" of right wing propaganda, because bills so often combine good and bad features that must be balanced. Politics is about compromise, and compromise greatly complicates voting records. Second, the party establishments get to decide what does or doesn't come up for a vote, which gives them tremendous power to manipulate what those voting records look like.
You and I have been paying attention for the same period, but clearly have different perspectives on what happened. I've watched for over 30 years as the Democrats have painstakingly done everything necessary to create the fertile soil for the right wing to plant the seeds of fascism.
Step one in creating a fascist movement is to create a disaffected population, and the message of "shut-up and vote" is exactly what gets that done.
No, Democrats and Republicans are not "the same", but they are more similar than they should be. Bill Clinton was right of even Reagan on several important issues. It was Clinton that dismantled the federal welfare state, and I see absolutely no evidence that he has grown to see the issues differently. He was not a victim of the times, he was leading the charge. Obama has likewise shown zero evidence that he has moved beyond the views of his pathetically ineffective presidency.
Biden was even further to the right in than Clinton, and his presidency has been surprisingly progressive. Credit where credit is due, Biden indeed has evolved. He's still not "my guy", but he is a rare instance where a prominent Democrat has learned something from his mistakes, and that should be acknowledged.
My message is "Stay informed and engaged, and make your voice heard. We should seek to be represented, not ruled by either party."
Well said!