Will Bush years affect our political psyche for decades way Great Depression did our grandparents?

[yurbud]

I remember when I was young especially, my grandparents always had a pantry full of canned food, were very careful about saving, and almost religiously grateful to have a job because they had that memory of the Great Depression, especially pre-FDR.

I wonder if this ''great depression'' of democracy will have a similar effect on our generation, if we will continue to be hyper-politically involved and vigilant for any deviance toward authoritarism, cronyism, and unnecessary wars to enrich cronies.

I will admit that before 9/11, my interest in politics was passing. My antenna only went up on a couple of issues, and I had written exactly one letter to an elected official ever.

Now I have called and called and written and written, and actually met with state legislators, and try to shape the actions of my union on political issues.

I admit my fervor tapered off a bit once Bush's popularity looked like it was going to stay firmly below 50%, but I still feel a certain baseline of vigilance.

I'm wondering what others think will be the long term effects on our psyche will be.

[pbca]

1. No

People's memories aren't that long. I thought after the Reagan years that people would never forget, but they did, and quickly. I thought for sure after Bush Sr. that that would end the GOP for awhile, but 2 years the Dems were dumped from Congress for Newt Gingrich's fundie rabble. Most people don't recongnize that the Domestic and International problems the US is currently grappling with started with Reagan (and were helped along by every President since.)

Part of me is afraid that the reason the Pukes don't seem to be trying very hard is that (given all the secrecy in the Bush White House) that they know things we don't and that whoever wins this election is in for 4 years of hell and unsolvable problems - then in 2012 the GOP will blame it all on the Dems and put Jeb Bush, or David Duke in the WH.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. Not if we work hard on the positive.

[gateley]

3. It will certainly affect ME, but as you indicated in one of your options,

not everybody is as painfully aware as some of us as to what Bushco has done to our country.

I was reading a great book the other day (about a group in the government going to overtake the presidency - a la Prescott Bush, e.g.) and I wanted to excerpt a great paragraph for DUers to read.

But I was afraid to. I know they're monitoring EVERYTHING, and even though it only would have been an book excerpt, "they" seem to put tens of thousands of people on watch who really aren't a threat.

Naomi Wolf told of how in Germany the powers that be convinced the populace that the government always knew what they were doing (and that people were regularly reporting anti-government words and actions). Even if that wasn't actually the case, the people believed it, toed the line and the result was the same. Fear.

Now, they CAN hear everything and see everything even though they pretend they don't (and we don't know until we try to get on a flight and are pulled aside and hassled for a bit because our name is on a list).

When the Dems get in office, I'm not so confident of how much of that will cease.

I've been scarred forever. They've won.

[yurbud]

4. assume they ARE reading--then post anyway. There was a great scene in V for Vendetta

they had a simpler way of keeping track of people, they just drove around neighborhoods with a really sensitive microphone.

But after a while, they heard so many people bashing the fascist government that they began to fear the people.