Giving thanks for a new year, for every sign of hope we've seen, and for DU
We all should, as much as possible.
2025 was a rough year, but it's important to focus on the victories and the signs of hope. We drag ourselves down if we don't. There have been lots of studies over the years showing that focusing on what's positive, and feeling grateful for it, is important for both mental and physical health.
That doesn't mean mean false optimism. It's important to recognize threats and deal with them. But it's just as important to focus on progress, including others becoming aware of the threats and joining the fight.
Trump's weakened. His approval rating keeps dropping. Democratic victories in recent elections should have Republicans worried if they're even semi-conscious. Our traditional allies are allying against the harm the Trump regime can do, and the regime is alienating former supporters. Its incompetence is showing more every day.
The AI bros are still a threat, and AI slop is a disgusting mess polluting the internet - but as AI has shown itself to be the greatest tool ever for fraud and disinformation, it's made more and more people aware of how harmful it is. We all have the ability to warn others of those harms, every day. Identify the slop, call out the disinformation, and warn anyone gullible enough to rely on chatbots of the dangers.
We are not yet living in an alternate media universe controlled by the right wing and AI bros. We have access to a lot of information that can be used against them, and the ability to get that information out. (But please don't make the mistake of using AI-generated text or images or music for messaging, because those will offend many of our allies and all too often act as ads for more thoughtless AI use.)
We should all be grateful for DU, for this safe space to talk about what matters to us as progressives. A lot of us have been posting here for decades. More than a few of us were worried that DU wouldn't last long under the Trump regime, but we're still here. And we're far from the only site where you can see the resistance to that regime.
We still need breaks from resisting and trying to wake people up. I hope everyone here has sources of joy in their life, whether human loved ones or pets or work or hobbies or nature or art, to offer escape and replenish their spirits. It's important to give thanks for those - and to communicate that thanks to the human and animal loved ones.
Human history has included a lot of difficult, even tragic, times. We survived those setbacks and progressed, again and again. The arc of the moral universe is still bending toward justice.
And there are going to be good days and victories in 2026.
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This past year has been tough with the onslaught against our institutions and fellow Americans. It's unlikely to cool in 2026.
However, the past year has proven that Trump and his Flying Monkey Brigade are NOT invincible, that Americans are waking up and Pro-Democracy is still kicking.
Won't be easy. Keeping the pedal to the metal is absolutely required which means keeping hope alive even within the swirling chaos and darkness.
We're going to get there, as in defeating the bottom dwellers in 2026!
Happy New Year to all DU members and beyond, all those who remember and yearn for a better America. Devoid of Agent Orange's worst impulses, of course.
