Apologies in advance for offending anyone, but I'm tired of the meta navel gazing of the last few weeks. We need to get over ourselves. There are more important things we should be doing.
In no particular order, here are a few of those things in my opinion:
1. Climate Change
It's killing us, and by us I mean millions of animal species and millions of human beings. A small number of wealthy interests are doing there best to lie to us so that we kill our planet so they can win the boys with the most toys race, or become master of the universe, or bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ, or because they just hate anything associated with liberals. A strong advocacy by the Democratic Party for renewable energy and public support for the climate scientists (hell all scientists) whose worst predictions are coming to pass about the effects of our fossil fuel addiction would be a start.
2. The Politics of Obstruction, Hate, Violence, and the Big Lie
This really needs no explanation. You can sum it up it in one word: Republicans.
There are many things that need to change soon in this country or we are in serious danger of becoming a fascist state. Yes, I'm dead serious. The Fascists movements that took power in the 20th century never had a majority behind them. But they did have the support of Big Business and the military establishment. They did have the a propaganda machine that was consistent and relentless. And they had weak and vacillating political opponents whose ineptitude and appeasement enabled those political minorities to take over the state. They had a simple message, an angry, hate-filled message, but it was more than their social democratic opposition had. I see far too many people in my daily life that have absorbed at least part of that message. The next time the economy goes in the shitter (and we collectively have accomplished very little to prevent that from happening again, and by we I especially mean out Democratic officials) the hateful message of scapegoating, of militarism, of liberals have destroyed our country, blah, blah blah, will resonate all the stronger with angry dispossessed individuals, of which there will be more and more each day. We should be focusing our efforts politically in presenting a more powerful, encompassing message of fairness and hope. Sadly, I do not see many politicians in the center left of the Democratic Party consistently pushing that message: universal health care, cheaper, better education, higher wages, and an end to the neo-liberal austerity agenda of the corporate controlled technocrats who make and carry out economic policy. Until we have a consistent, repeated message to present to the American people, Democrats will continue to lose ground, the demographics be damned.
3. Our National Surveillance State
It's been with us for decades, but never has it had this much power to intrude into the lives of nearly every American, regardless of politics. We make occasional efforts to push our side to do something about this, and to their credit a few brave politicians have taken up the fight against this bureaucratic monster that is filing every piece of information about you, your family and your friends in massive data stockpiles, where they will be abused by the people with access to that data. This is one subject you think the libertarian wing of the right and the Democrats could find common ground to attack and roll back this assault on our liberties, but it seems we have too many Democrats, many of them powerful figures, are invested heavily in expanding its power. Beyond all reason or common sense, they and their Republican counterparts insist on perpetuating and growing this fatal disease. Why they do this doesn't matter as much to me as finding it within ourselves to out them, regardless of party, and fight them, in primaries if need be, to begin the long hard fight to end this travesty, both the sinister infringement on our civil rights, but also it basic ineffectiveness and incompetence in providing national security and safeguarding our people, which is its stated purpose if not its real goal.
4. Income Inequality, Neo-liberal Economics and Class Warfare
I don't really need to tell you why this is important, do I? The idea that austerity works, that cutting the social safety net is a good idea, that welfare for billionaires makes sense, and that free trade will benefit everyone who isn't welded at the hip of Wall Street, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Telecoms, ad nauseam is destroying our middle class, our economy and turning us into a third rate economic power with a costly first rate military establishment. The same formula that led to the downfall of many democracies in the past.
5. Voting Rights
We are losing the fight to expand and preserve the right to vote for millions of people each day. That's the easiest way to lose elections that by all the signs you should win. Yest this topic, more than most has been ignored, denied, called in the past here merely the subject of conspiracy theorists. Well, it isn;t, and we continue to lose ground and shake the confidence of those whose votes are being taken away, or otherwise suppressed and limited.
6. The Whole Generational Conflict Nonsense
A red herring if there ever was one. All our generations are losing ground because of this phony divide and conquer strategy by the top of the food chain, the people and corporations that control our political debates. Get this through your head: if any generation loses ground we all do. Boomers are the parents and grandparents of millenials. When one group suffers the other will as well. The antagonism I see being promoted by some here on this site, pitting the old against their younger family members is a tactic to make us lose sight of the big picture - that the ALECs of the world are out to screw us all.
7. Fighting To make The Democrats Better By Serving Our Mutual Interests
It's easy to make enemies at a site like this. Sure there are many topics that divide us, but too often we ignore the things that should unite us. One of those is finding better Democrats and getting them elected, and then holding their feet to the fire to promote and enforce the agenda they promised us they would support. An agenda of inclusion and economic support for the masses If we devolve into pissing contests on the few (and they are a few) matters that the powers that be seek to use as a wedge to keep us from pushing the policies our party needs to fight for - Labor rights, Voting rights, a decent living wage, and an end to corporate personhood and corporate welfare at the expense of the poor and what's left of the middle class, then we will fail as liberals, as progressives, as activists and as members of the Democratic Party, which we still need to achieve all our mutual goals, both economic goals, social goals and the promotion of individual rights.
That's my lucky seven off the top of my head. I'm sure you can think of others. So, how about it? Enough of this meta shit. Back to the business of saving this country.
End of Rant