And then, depression set in...

[mrgorth]

Lately I've been noticing that I'm losing my political addiction. When I first found DU I couldn't believe how great it was and was posting and responding all day. Last week I returned "Dude, Where's My Country" not because it was a bad book, but, it just wasn't interesting anymore. Nothing that this admin. does shocks me so I had to stop. I did love Franken's "Lies". That said, I think I've just given up on the process. Even though I just sent Dean more money and probably will again. I see the anti-candidate threads on DU and other sites. Not just the anti-Dean stuff but the Dean people too saying they won't support anyone else. It seems they have us right where we want us. I was briefly signed up for a democratic yahoogroup today but had to leave when I started seeing the mails that we had to vote for Lieberman because, since his foreign policy is the most like Bush's, he's the only one that can beat him...and it wasn't just one person.

Unless something cataclysmic happens the democratic party is poised to eat itself for breakfast this year. No matter which candidate wins hundreds of thousands of us will leave in disgust. A Lieberman/Gep ticket send us to the Greens. A Dean/Richardson ticket probably sends people to Bush. It's ashame because I was really energized about democracy for a while. It's still a good idea but the thugs own us and it was the war. They got to have their fun and turn us against each other to boot.

As a reward for our not being able to get our shit together we get Bush for a 2nd term, with a draft and a new war, followed by Jeb for 8 years after that and the US slowly morphing into the nightmare that they turned Texas into (apologies to TX dems). Wake me when it's over.

[vi5]

1. I agree with you....

It's not for lack of worry or interest. I just can't invest myself so much in what amounts to wheel spinning and finger pointing and a complete and utter lack of self analyses and pragmatism.

I will still remain an avid voter and will try to convince people not to vote for * but that gets harder when you see people who are supposed to be your allies bickering like babies over moral and political purity.

[demnan]

2. Your 666 post . . .

was most effective and I agree. I am starting to zone out on politics. I hardly watch C-Span anymore. I still give to Dean and I still believe in him. Too bad I can't persuade anyone else. It's ABB for me but for who else?

[tkmorris]

3. Wake you?

OK, but only if you're in Vancouver because if what you foresee comes to pass that's where I'll be.

Seriously though, this looks like a classic case of DU (and political) burnout. It happens frequently, especially to people who hang around here a lot. It's happened to me a half dozen times or more.

Then I get away from here, stay away from all things political, make sure the television stays off, etc. Go to the library and find a good novel. Play with the kids, talk to the neighbors, have a barbecue, go to the beach. Whatever works for you. In time my passion returns and my pessimism fades. Then I dive back in again.

Remember, chicken little is the order of the day around here. It isn't without cause, the sky really DOES appear to be losing some structural integrity but it isn't always as bad as it seems.

[spindoctor]

4. Happens to me all the time

But what distinguishes a sound mind from a ditto-head (and you don’t have be Republican to be one), is the ability to doubt our convictions and ourselves.
Someone once said that a liberal is somebody who is too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel. I think DU is a perfect example of that. We do not shun debate (or quarrel), we do not blindly follow-the-leader, and we stand up for every little thing we believe in. I dare you to disagree with me.

In the end we all want the same things, the differences just come from priorities.

You’ll be back….the politics bug is like herpes. It goes away but it never leaves you.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I go through phases

where I wear out on my political activism too. When that happens, I switch to a different activism interest until interet in politics comes back up.

Seriously, it's hard to not become numbed by this ADMIN and our anger at it for long. It's ok to take a break now and then because there will still be others railing against them while you are resting. :)

[candy331]

6. I feel your pain

I too was so thrilled when I found DU. I have only been here for probably 2-3 months and see the deterioration in just that short time. I wish the Dem party would come together but I see the whole country divided and I don't know what it will take to unite it. Many feel 911 united the country but that was a surface wound because the old hatreds were still there and are manifesting themselves even more so. When it is tauted that a Democrat can't win in the South, we all should be concerned that something is disturbingly deeply wrong in this country. I don't think it bodes well for the US to be 2 nations comprised of North and South, it sure didn't in the past.

That being said I will not give up, the fight must go on.

[qwlauren35]

7. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

I'm SO glad that you wrote this. Now I don't feel so bad. I've spent the last 3 months as a highly active and engaged Dean supporter, doing a LOT of things I never knew I could do, or ever thought to do before in my life.

And then, after a while, I found that the infighting, the negativity, and sometimes just the ennui got to me. I'm tired of being asked for money. I'm tired of listening to people bash my candidate. And goodness knows, I'm ILL from hearing people stick up for BUSH. It's the last thing that leaves me most troubled, and makes me want to run and hide. Everyone who says "Candidate X can't beat Bush" or worse still, "I'm going to vote for Bush"... makes me feel as though all of my efforts are for nothing, and it becomes too much to bear.

I know that I'll vote, and I think I'll still donate money. But I've also learned that I can OD on politics, and it's not healthy. There's too much ugliness and hate involved. That's not something I normally let into my inner world.

I need to find a way to be healthy on the sidelines. Yes, please wake me after the nomination.

[tigereye]

8. sometimes it is important to go out and work

for your candidate too (or simply for other non-political causes.) That can offer a more hopeful perspective, plus the enthusiasm of those around you can be a good antidote to the pessimism. At the same time, politics will always be here. As someone who has done some sort of work for a number of Dem candidates (and not always sucessful ones) over the years, I still feel hopeful and no one should throw in the towel because others say that they should. So be hopeful and take a break! :)