A free country

[Tyo]

This morning my partner and I woke up in a free country. We are having our coffee in a nation in which neither prime minister nor governor-general nor queen can have us arrested and held without due process of law. It is a country that doesn’t seem to have a problem understanding the difference between interrogation and torture.

This country happens to be Canada, but it could just as well be one of any number of countries around the world. I’m sad to say that it’s not the United States of America, although the US used to be the president of that club. We’ll be going back home to the US tomorrow. At times I’m not quite sure why.

[derby378]

1. The main reason you're coming back is also why the French partisans stayed

It was their country, and they were taking it back from the Vichy regime. Now it's our turn.

[Deja Q]

2. Conversely,

you definitely don't want to go to certain countries on the other side of the globe.

The US isn't perfect, but there sure as hell is worse out there.

BTW: What's the point of this thread? Is it a gloat over the current political turmoil?

[Tyo]

3. What's to gloat about?

I don't get where you're coming from, HT. It's nothing more than a reflection of how low we have fallen.

[movonne]

5. There may be worse countries out there, but we are sure heading

in that direction...

[Eric J in MN]

4. Come back in order to get out the vote.

Call for Change to Get-Out-the-Vote

[pat_k]

6. We are learning the speed with which a once great

. . .nation can descend into evil.

Beware.

Build Associations. When people connect, they represent their own interests. Challenge immobilizing beliefs ("people like me don't do politics" or "We have no power. It's all about money. Why do anything?")

Not very long ago, politics in the United States wasn't viewed as the exclusive purview of the "professionals." Countless communities had vital Democratic Clubs and other associations where Americans experienced "politics" first hand. It wasn't always pretty, but people socialized, chose leaders, made decisions, and took civic action.

Over the decades, people have been pushed out of their own game. We allowed the "professionals" to run the show and they are VERY protective of their turf.

To every other constititutional democracy on this planet, I say, Beware!

Our power to protect our interests is rooted in our connections with each other. If you doubt this, consider the American Legion in the United States, which is not exactly an organization that one would apply the label "progressive" to. Despite the "conservative" label, members of American Legion Posts across the nation were instrumental in designing and passing the most progressive legislation we have seen in decades: the GI Bill.

By contrast, consider the AARP, which is made up of lots of people who got together based on status (being old together). Unlike the American Legion, members of AARP do not meet and connect with each other in local associations. It is basically a top down "strategic" organization in which the members are largely viewed as game pieces. Because member participation is limited, the AARP does things like support Bush's prescription drug horror.

Here, more and more of us are fighting to re-assert our soveriegnty. We are connecting. We are gaining momentum, but tragically for the world, it is taking us years.

http://january6th.org/du-post-hope.html

[Tyo]

7. You make a really interesting point

Never thought about that before. This is probably why the Christian right has been so successful in pushing through their agenda. They have massive personal contact with each other and they believe in getting personally involved. Watch and learn.