Overall, humiliating people who think republicans are smart is only half the battle. It's an important half, because at least with all the Rush followers I know, it's the arrogant belief that they are so smart and liberals are so darned stupid that compels them.
The other half is galvanizing the working class into a cohesive unit that will be willing to stand together for the good of all. We need to be united into a movement that we can use to force politicians to make policies that benefit a larger percentage of citizens.
I think the GettingSick of this Recession diary is the key to that galvanization. I would love to see people get real and talk about the papercuts of not having enough to feel like part of the American consumer class any longer. The little shit that doesn't really matter to the bigger picture. Stuff like not being able to just go by new t-shirts when the old ones are getting holes in them. We all want to be quiet about that to our neighbors because what if they judge us? What if they see we aren't worthy?
It's a lot easier to think that it isn't so bad for us because we are able to keep our house and we just have to tighten our belts.
I would love to hear people start talking about being afraid that they won't be part of the middle class any longer. Because there are A LOT of people out there with that very fear. It is what unites the working class.
I think our silence, our pretense that we are each doing alright is the keystone that is holding the arch of the last 30 years of guilded age politics together.
We are not doing alright.
We have all sorts of judgements involved with speaking our truth about this. It's whining. It's airing dirty laundry. It's unseemly.
We will find our power when we start admitting the truth of this recession to each other. We need to be talking like this to our fellow working class citizens. This is the sort of thing that will 1) unite us and 2) get us pissed off.
Who gives a shit if the ruling class hears or sympathizes? If we come together with the grief and outrage we all feel that this diary does such a good job of communicating, THINGS WILL CHANGE. Why? Because we will MAKE THEM CHANGE.
For the record, I'm advocating us talking about this stuff In Real Life. Lots of people are doing a good job of discussing it online. But there is a real power in saying to a neighbor that I am afraid of what this economy is doing to my ability to be self sustaining in my life. When I look at someone in the eyes and say that, I hit a nerve. Whether we go on to talk about their fears or not, they walk away thinking and feeling.
That is how you start and fuel populist movements.