gloom

My essential reading for politics includes Jacques Ellul's Propaganda.  Can get it on Amazon.

Propaganda like chocolate if you like chocolate.  You hear something you like, want to hear it again.  At some level they put something in the chocolate that they want in it, they don't care if you like that thing or not, long as you keep eating the chocolate.  You like the chocolate enough you keep eating it, especially they tell you to listen carefully all the time to the chocolate propaganda.  You get your steady dose of poison in the chocolate but it tastes good, everyone's doing it, etc.

All of the political parties and their people do this all the time, some are better than others, we laugh at the inept performances, or get mad if that's what we like to do, but we keep going to the stuff for entertainment, or the clowns they put on tv to "explain" their selections for us.  Those of us of a certain age.  Dig: my older son turned me on to the Daily Show but he doesn't watch it.  Stewart/Colbert: too old.  Prince: too old.  Nora Jones: too old.  He's like: who was Easley?  He's 26 years old.

I don't see a clear path to victory for O but I'm in it anyway, active & money until November.  It is going to be interesting campaigning solely on the "consider the alternative" line, which is what I'm going to do.  I think I can make the case to some people.  I made it to myself.  No protest votes this year.  Stakes too high.  Supreme Court.  My bottom line.

KIDS
The kids think he's old.  The kids think he lies all the time.  They figure they might as well try a new liar, what difference does it make?  They see too little too late.  So they figure the frying pan is not better than the fire.  They're wrong but you can't tell them anything, they think they know.  They want things to make them feel better, but politics is always the art of the less worse.  Politics like butt wiping: you can think what you like about it but not doing it is worse.

HOPE
But I'm in it anyway.  I do not need to feel good about doing political work.  It needs to be done.  Trash needs to be picked up.  Feeling good is beside the point.