I just want to scream! I want to get in someone's face and tell them

[Skidmore]

where to go and how to get there. If you knew me, you would know that I really am a quiet person and pretty nonthreatening. I don't seek confrontation and when I find it, I'm usually the person in the room who tries to find some path to reconciliaton between the parties. I am almost always the person who first apologizes when I am in an argument. I rarely raise my voice, even though I tend to let my heart lead. My style tends to be more passive-aggressive, if it must be labeled.

All this being said, I feel like exploding--going off at the slightest provocation. I'm so frustrated by the condition of this nation and the blinders people are holding onto with a death grip. There is an obtuse wilfulness to this slide into the abyss we have been witnessing for over half a decade now. I am angry. I am outraged that people will not break out of this malaise and actively seek change. That the nation appears to be so ready to be cowed into a state of fear by a media which insults intelligence with a callous disregard for truth on one hand and the reinforces the lies with made for teevee movies on the other. I'm sickened by the lack of curiosity and civic responsibility. I'm disgusted that corrupt and criminal people like *, Cheney, Rove, and their cronies could even be loosely described as "leaders." I'm downright incensed that our side tiptoes and the cheerleaders section makes excuses. I'm sick to death of the lack of common sense, decency, and concern for each other that is rampant in this nation.

I want to scream! Long and loud! WTF is wrong with y'all out there? Quit trying to duplicate American Idol in every arena and start paying attention to the world around you.

[zanne]

1. Everybody here feels your pain.

Congratulations for not exploding yet. I have, several times. Truth and reason are not as strong as blind loyalty and cultural identity.

[bdamomma]

2. I feel the same frustration as you.

[greenbriar]

3. I feel the same way

I think its safe to say many of us do

[welshTerrier2]

4. consumers of news; producers of news

the fact is that most people sit back in their comfy chair and catch a little news. they are spoon-fed. they eat what they are served.

i ask a family member what they thought about this last Iraq funding bill. the answer? "oh, i didn't hear anything about that." someone on DU just posted that something like 60% of Americans couldn't name the vice president. naming him isn't important. but understanding what he's done is. clearly, they know nothing about that.

you talk to people about the corruption of Big Oil and how it dominates our foreign policy and how it was the real reason we invaded Iraq and they tell me "I'm right there with you on that one." I'm surprised. Then they go on to explain how "I know they could lower those gas prices if they want to." The point is they don't see beyond the pocketbook issue and fail to understand the impact of big money on national policy.

When our institutions are corrupt, they see gas prices. When they finally turn against our involvement in Iraq, it's because bush has failed. The problem is, it's not because we had no right to invade in the first place. The problem is that they don't understand the policy was immoral, it was greedy, it was imperialism. What does that say about what they'll support when the next oil company puppet manufactures a case for war?

We have precious few outlets to let those who are not very interested hear our message. It should be JOB ONE of the Democratic Party to do all they can to educate the public. Do you hear a steady message from the Party about WHY bush invaded Iraq? All you hear is that "we were all duped by the "bad intelligence."" How many leading Democrats call it MANUFACTURED INTELLIGENCE? Again, most Americans are barely paying attention. The Democratic Party, presumably because they see political risks in trying to educate Americans on issues not widely accepted, is failing to do its job.

Look at the recent Goodling hearings. They are so focused on "getting Gonzales" that the only analysis I heard after she testified was about whether Gonzales tried to influence her recollections of events. A good thing to know to be sure. But, they've completely dropped the ball on the much more important point Goodling raised. She testified that Griffin, a key member of the bush/cheney campaign, was involved in vote caging. Vote caging is a technique to block selected people from voting. It's a felony. It is an assault on the very foundation on which this country was founded. It is treason. It is high crimes and misdemeanors. It was completely ignored by the Democratic Party after Goodling's testimony.

The point is, I totally agree with your assessment that far too many citizens lack curiosity and civic responsibility. We cannot function as a democracy with an ill-informed, non-participating citizenry. But, I think it's also important to note that given that state of affairs, it's all the more critical to smash the corporate, centralized control of our MSM and all the more critical for the Democratic Party to stop being so cowardly. If the voters refuse to come to the mountain, we have to do a better job bringing the mountain to them.

for a quiet person, Skidmore, you said a mouthful.

k&r ...

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. What we're lacking is LEADERSHIP.

And I'll tell you now that you will never be able to shake this until you can find a medium for the young which will explain to them what is being taken from them. You need a Daily Show for the kids, so to speak. A liberal version that gives it to them unvarnished, but explains it to them in simple terms.

Because we have a Shaker problem in the Liberal party. You're getting older, but you're not producing enough young who really understand that liberalism is more than legalizing pot.

If you manage to wake up the young and educate them, they will tune out those stupid shows and demand something better. Corporate America gears everything towards the young, so prepare them to recognize the avalanche of pablum, and get them to demand better.

And you do have at least one person who can do better to raise awareness among the masses: Jerry Springer. He's in there with them, and if he can find some way to raise the information in his show, he can go far in starting a chain reaction.

[femrap]

6. The willfull ignorance really gets to me

too. It's as if the Truth is just too much for them to take. Or they feel impotent to change the direction of our country. I do believe people are waking up...I actually was very encouraged last week when so many on the Left got pissed at the Dems...that is what we need. We must hold our elected officials accountable! We are their BOSS...not the other way around.

Tell people the Truth....eventually they will listen....we are headed to a place where they won't be able to keep their heads in the sand or just on American Idol.

Great rant.

[Double T]

7. I am paying attention..............

the GD problem is our ELECTED leaders, on both sides of the damn aisle, keeping singing the same old song. I feel your rage and outrage!!!

[mopinko]

8. read al's book.

i promise it will make you feel better.

[Kablooie]

9. I thought the Democratic congress would help things simmer down ...

but they just play along nicely with the monsters just as the Republicans did.

Now with Bush declaring dictator powers for himself during an emergency and martial law, which nullifies the constitution, a real possiblity, I'm really afraid that all this anger we are feeling will not have an outlet until we have real bloodshed right here in the U.S.

I feel a new, real, civil war brewing under the surface. And I don't think it will start with us. There are plenty of other factions, including the military, that feel the Neocon noose tightening around their freedoms.

If it happens, it's going to be big. Really big. Actual world class history happening right here that will be taught in schoolbooks for centuries to come. But we will be in the middle of it.

----

and the outcome is uncertain......

[Skidmore]

10. I feel the same way. Like we're sitting on a powder keg.

One that is about to blow. For the first time, I've been able to understand some of what was happening within society that touched off the Civil War. I could never fathom how a people could turn on each other within the same nation. But it's there, and unmistakably so.

[Gregorian]

11. You've describe my personality as well. And I am also where you are.

But I might add that I've been like this since 1980, or thereabouts.

You are not alone.

And I would like to say that I respect people such as you. Just know that. I look for people like you. And I don't find many.

I just sold a beautiful farm. Creeks, apple orchard, even a cemetery. I could have spent my life there. But for the people. The neighborhood was arrogant Bush clones. I couldn't live there. That's just an example of how seriously I take this. Now I'm renting a house. My tractor and machines all in storage. I don't know where to go. I'm thinking it's American society I cannot tolerate. I don't know. I may grow old and still never know. But I won't hijack your thread any more than I already have. You are not alone. Let's try to keep our spirits high, by remembering this.

[ejbr]

12. Thank you for this post

I really need to hear this frustration with the way things are going every now and again to remind myself why I feel sick most of the time. The "everything is all right, we can make a change playing their game" crowd is also beginning to get on my nerves, in addtion to the criminals in govt., the treasonous media, and the dumb-as-nails administration supporters. We are suppose to play fair with people who take advantage of our morals. We cannot wish them dead or hurt because that is not what we represent. I never thought that I would find people in this environment who would have the gall to subject me to THEIR perspective as if mine might be infantile or destructive. If my enemies want me dead or hurt, I reserve the right to wish the same for them. Period.

I agree with another poster who says that a potential bloodbath is brewing right here in the U.S. First, the Bush administration betrays us, then the media betrays us, and now the Democrats betray us. Singing kumbaya is not what is in order here. When the will of the masses is ignored or manipulated by a deceptive media and the "leadership" in both parties, there may only be one thing left to do. I, for one, am not going down without a fight.

Again, thank you for the post. It says a lot when someone of your temperament is at wit's end.

[byronius]

13. I'm reading 'Armed Madhouse'. Lemme Tell Ya. Oh Yeah.

I'm screaming.

[blueworld]

14. I'm witcha, but stay strong. If we give up, we're worse than they are. n/t