I swear there are days when I am convinced that language is absolutely wasted on humanity.
Perhaps if we could actually remember a time of pointing and grunting we might value actual specific words more highly. We don't. Now, I have written multiple essays on the meanings of words and sometimes on their misuse. I have taken considerable ribbing over my attitude about word usage and/or linguistic evolution. (I'm agin' it) I seem to be fighting an uphill battle.
The epiphany that has my knickers in a bunch today occurred because I do not consider myself aligned with either of the two predominant political parties in the USA. I fully and willingly admit that the last 30-40 years have convinced me that I will never vote for a Republican for anything in the future. A more complete version of that would note that while I will not be voting GOP I will likely stay largely pissed off at the Democratic Party. Not pissed off enough to vote Republican but any other apparently viable, socially progressive, fiscally sane party could easily get my attention.
Today's burr under my saddle might seem subtle to some of you but I think it is meaningful. On social media and even in person I have seen untold analysees on what the Dems can do to win elections. I have seen it phrased as how Dems can beat the GOP or what messaging the Dems need. --- Do you see the problem yet?? ---
Let me help you out. I will be the first to acknowledge that my social media footprint is not huge. I am no longer on Facebook. I do not and have not participated on Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, TikTok, and a bunch of lesser platforms. I am primarily active on Bluesky (and I really miss Google+) and Reddit. Still, I see a lot of posts. What I do not see is anyone trying to tell the Dems or Independents how they can make the current situation less bad for us. --- You see it now, right? ---
Look, I am no Pollyanna by any stretch of the imagination. However, at the end of the day I don't actually give a shit who is in charge. I care what happens to me, those that I know and love, those that I know and like, and those that I don't know from Adam's housecat. We have contorted our language and belief structure so as to render what is actually done severely subordinate to getting elected - and even more importantly, reelected.
As a general rule, I would agree that Dems are more socially progressive and that is important. OTOH, I also follow politics closely enough to know that some of your favorite Dem politicians had to be forcibly pulled to the left and for some of them, I wonder if their beliefs actually changed or if they were just saying what they thought would get them elected. Off the top of my head I could point out that minimum wage hasn't gone up, healthcare has not gotten less expensive, predatory lending has continued under multiple administrations of both parties.
I'm gonna take a wild guess that one of the reasons General George Washington was opposed to political parties is the same thing that is annoying me. The party's priority becomes the elected party official's priority and the constituent's priority has to take a back seat IF allowed on the bus at all. I don't have a comprehensive plan to fix this idiocy but the general outline is we should all focus on making life hell on any elected official that is not actively making our lives better. I acknowledge that electing someone from a different party might be an element of that but that should be a part of the journey NOT the destination. If your party happens to be the one in power, that changes nothing. You still need to pay attention and make life hell for any elected official that is not making your life better.
I'm not sure this could be any more simple.
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