This started as a comment in another diary, but the more I think about it, the more fired up I get. DailyKos and the netroots are awesome, and while I in no way think we should rest on our laurels and 'coast' until November, I just want to say "kudos" to everyone who has done anything to advance a saner, more progressive America (which is just about everyone here, plus many more people than I have time to name).
And I also want to rant about the troll (and troll-like) diaries I have seen here recently. Full disclosure: I lurked on DK for a year, and just recently joined. As an independent with formerly Republican leanings, I have learned a ton about the netroots and the progressive movement here, and admit that I have a lot more to learn.
What upsets me is that in the last few weeks I have seen too many diaries like:
"Why I am no longer a Democrat"
"Dems do not get Progressive Issue and thus deserve to lose"
"Dems suck"
"Democrats = Republicans"
"Progressive Issue that is finally getting national attention is bad and will cause Dems to lose in November"
"Scandal was concocted by Rove to undermine Dems and they're falling for it"
"Progressive Candidate is not ahead in the polls so let's give up."
"Disgusting Legislation passed by Senate/House - America is DEAD and we have LOST EVERYTHING"
"If Dems do not take Senate, Congress, and Spontaneously Replace the Executive Branch with good people by November 7th, we lose, and Dems will never deserve to govern"
and the worst
"I am angry about something and thus will not vote in the election."
This is AWFUL. You guys (and very recently, me) have been fighting the good fight for years to get to where we are now. We have genuine progressive candidates who want to fix the government and make America better. We have overcome the poisonous political climate to put oursleves in the position to take back the House and Senate, with luck, where a month ago no one thought we could take back either one. We have spawned a much higher level of political awareness among young people, and we have created a freaking interactive web-based community of progressives that empowers our citizens to influence government - we have already made democracy better. This is freak'n AWESOME.
And just when our fight is starting to turn the tides, all of these diaries appear that
1. Set ridiculous metrics of success for the progressive movement, essentially putting success out of reach and setting us up for failure
2. Foster despair and a sense of futility at a time when we most need to focus and work hard
3. Downplay the tremendous success that we've already had and stifling momentum on issues and actions that are working to make things better
4. Seriously suggest to a political action-based web community that there are no differences between parties, and that the best way to change the government is NOT TO VOTE
I understand completely that people have been upset by the terrible things that have happened, in the past five years and the past few days. And ranting when it seems that things aren't going well is normal, and human, and appropriate. I am not talking about complainers, or even genuine despairers. I am talking about comments and diaries that seem to call into question or undermine somehow what we fundamentally want to accomplish: getting America back to what we know it can be, what it has to be - free and democratic.