"Both the New York Times and the Washington Post today ran op-eds from Republicans or former Republicans urging members of their party who still value democracy to vote Democratic until the authoritarian faction that has taken over their party is bled out of it."
The media scares me. They don't seem to realize that Democracy itself is in actual, real-time danger. They really need to stop "both-sidesing" and publishing "Democrats in disarray" skewed nonsense. It's almost like they're *trying* to usher in a fascist takeover with trump as Hitler 2.0.
Considering the current status of politics calls to mind a couple of quotes from the Bad Boy of Baltimore:
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
“No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. The mistake that is made always runs the other way. Because the plain people are able to speak and understand, and even, in many cases, to read and write, it is assumed that they have ideas in their heads, and an appetite for more. This assumption is a folly.”
Disdain for the common man is the secular version of the belief in original sin. Both serve to promote the interests of authoritarians who presume to reule the ignorant. The currently preferred term is "influencers."
Just got this email from Terry McAuliffe: "I’m flabbergasted, Susan …
We’ve been sending you email after email about just how important this race is, but it’s October, and it’s looking like a tossup right now.
I thought folks would be fired up to get out the vote, but at this point, it seems like enthusiasm is at an all time low."
Yeah? Well, maybe you should be campaigning harder instead of sending out multiple daily "woe is me" emails. I'm so very tired of Clintonistas thinking they should just automatically be elected because of who they are. We could very well lose that state to the Rabid Republicans because they are working for it and Terry doesn't seem to be.
He does make one point, though. Inundated as we are with news and events, are people going the way of frogs slowly being boiled? Or are they, perhaps, hiding out far away from the stove?
The wind died down overnight, and visibility is better than it has been in a long time; the crest of the mountains is clearly backlit by the sunrise. I'm not sure how far away that is, but it must be the better part of a hundred miles.
To state it a little more clearly, in every place I was ever employed the workplace culture was largely crap. I could never understand people whose friendship networks were centered on, or significantly involved, the workplace.
I hated every single job I ever had. HATED THEM. But I had to work, so I did. I learned early that incompetence rises to the top, and that too many "supervisors" just enjoy tormenting underlings. I had some really bad stuff happen to me courtesy of "bosses". I retired early at 55 and it was the best thing for my mental health I've ever done.
Of course, the major part of the problem is that when I was in my twenties I chose a field that was ENTIRELY WRONG FOR ME and made me hate people even more. Social Work. Ugh. In the category of "too soon old, too late smart" I would have been better off going for mastering multiple foreign languages, including American Sign Language. Oh well. I'm still standing.
I basically liked the jobs I had -- speaking of the jobs rather than the enfironment. Ironically, it was the academic jobs, where I would have expected the best fit, where the environment was toxic. The three PR jobs were mixed but mostly not bad. That was especially ture of the first as long as you didn't expect it to be permanent. When I was let go after six years I was the most senior professional below the rank of Vice President.
You all got me mulling the jobs I've had. I liked the work I did in each of the jobs...from custodian in college (using the buffer was a hoot!) to home schooling to parish coordinator to bookshop clerk to library clerk and now sitting with people who are seeking spiritual guidance. As far as the work environment goes, it was always crap where coworkers were involved. Home schooling was different, of course, but often a negotiated struggle with kids who resisted their assignments. But we could always work something out. [That's the beauty of home ed. The child can't fail, because you adapt the study program to their individual age, ability and needs. I am certain that the reason so many had difficulty schooling from home during the pandemic is that the school expected the child to serve the study program, when the best learning works the other way.] Anyway, back on topic...the library was the worst, because the head clerk was a task master. Spiritual guidance is what I love most. The necessary peer groups (for support and accountability) are often more work than benefit. Why is it always people who mess up a good thing?
I basically like my work--it was my calling. But the politics--ugh. I realized in graduate school that I would be most unlikely to be able to endure the politics of academia. At one point much later I decided to apply for an opening at the local state college, which validated my earlier impression. Certainly some good people can thrive there, but not I.
"Both the New York Times and the Washington Post today ran op-eds from Republicans or former Republicans urging members of their party who still value democracy to vote Democratic until the authoritarian faction that has taken over their party is bled out of it."
ReplyDeletehttps://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-11-2021?r=a0zry&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=
The media scares me. They don't seem to realize that Democracy itself is in actual, real-time danger. They really need to stop "both-sidesing" and publishing "Democrats in disarray" skewed nonsense. It's almost like they're *trying* to usher in a fascist takeover with trump as Hitler 2.0.
DeleteConsidering the current status of politics calls to mind a couple of quotes from the Bad Boy of Baltimore:
Delete“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
“No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. The mistake that is made always runs the other way. Because the plain people are able to speak and understand, and even, in many cases, to read and write, it is assumed that they have ideas in their heads, and an appetite for more. This assumption is a folly.”
Disdain for the common man is the secular version of the belief in original sin. Both serve to promote the interests of authoritarians who presume to reule the ignorant.
DeleteThe currently preferred term is "influencers."
Just got this email from Terry McAuliffe: "I’m flabbergasted, Susan …
ReplyDeleteWe’ve been sending you email after email about just how important this race is, but it’s October, and it’s looking like a tossup right now.
I thought folks would be fired up to get out the vote, but at this point, it seems like enthusiasm is at an all time low."
Yeah? Well, maybe you should be campaigning harder instead of sending out multiple daily "woe is me" emails. I'm so very tired of Clintonistas thinking they should just automatically be elected because of who they are. We could very well lose that state to the Rabid Republicans because they are working for it and Terry doesn't seem to be.
McAwful hasn't been troubling me with fundraising offers so far, but I agree with your analysis, Susan.
DeleteYou are so right.
DeleteHe does make one point, though. Inundated as we are with news and events, are people going the way of frogs slowly being boiled? Or are they, perhaps, hiding out far away from the stove?
The wind died down overnight, and visibility is better than it has been in a long time; the crest of the mountains is clearly backlit by the sunrise. I'm not sure how far away that is, but it must be the better part of a hundred miles.
ReplyDeleteMay this continue!!
DeleteAn analysis of “Slack” in workplace culture. [Click] Sounds like Facebook and text messaging mated and, for better or worse, had offspring.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason to rejoice that I am retired; to understate it considerably, I did not enjoy workplace culture.
DeleteTo state it a little more clearly, in every place I was ever employed the workplace culture was largely crap. I could never understand people whose friendship networks were centered on, or significantly involved, the workplace.
DeleteI hated every single job I ever had. HATED THEM. But I had to work, so I did. I learned early that incompetence rises to the top, and that too many "supervisors" just enjoy tormenting underlings. I had some really bad stuff happen to me courtesy of "bosses". I retired early at 55 and it was the best thing for my mental health I've ever done.
DeleteOf course, the major part of the problem is that when I was in my twenties I chose a field that was ENTIRELY WRONG FOR ME and made me hate people even more. Social Work. Ugh. In the category of "too soon old, too late smart" I would have been better off going for mastering multiple foreign languages, including American Sign Language. Oh well. I'm still standing.
I basically liked the jobs I had -- speaking of the jobs rather than the enfironment. Ironically, it was the academic jobs, where I would have expected the best fit, where the environment was toxic. The three PR jobs were mixed but mostly not bad. That was especially ture of the first as long as you didn't expect it to be permanent. When I was let go after six years I was the most senior professional below the rank of Vice President.
DeleteYou all got me mulling the jobs I've had. I liked the work I did in each of the jobs...from custodian in college (using the buffer was a hoot!) to home schooling to parish coordinator to bookshop clerk to library clerk and now sitting with people who are seeking spiritual guidance. As far as the work environment goes, it was always crap where coworkers were involved. Home schooling was different, of course, but often a negotiated struggle with kids who resisted their assignments. But we could always work something out. [That's the beauty of home ed. The child can't fail, because you adapt the study program to their individual age, ability and needs. I am certain that the reason so many had difficulty schooling from home during the pandemic is that the school expected the child to serve the study program, when the best learning works the other way.] Anyway, back on topic...the library was the worst, because the head clerk was a task master. Spiritual guidance is what I love most. The necessary peer groups (for support and accountability) are often more work than benefit. Why is it always people who mess up a good thing?
DeleteI basically like my work--it was my calling. But the politics--ugh. I realized in graduate school that I would be most unlikely to be able to endure the politics of academia. At one point much later I decided to apply for an opening at the local state college, which validated my earlier impression. Certainly some good people can thrive there, but not I.
DeleteSnowflake Bentley's homestead is for sale.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.zillow.com/homedetails/228-Nashville-Rd-Jericho-VT-05465/92270989_zpid/?