Open Thread

An open thread is a space on a weblog (blog) where anyone can comment upon any topic they need to talk about or make other people aware of. I'm posting this one tonight so that everyone who has thoughts or information on the development of this site or just the coordination of information amongst us Progressives can participate. Hope you all have lots to say! Comment away, folks!

Peg C

P.S. Down below this section, you'll see a link that says (0) Comments Or (3) or (10) or... Click here. In a few seconds, a window will come up into which you post your thoughts. When you finish, click on Publish and your comment will appear on the site.

What Every Good Autocrat Knows...

I've been alarmed to discover hopelessness in the ranks of Progressives recently, and I've decided to give everyone (including myself) a good talking-to. Because, by giving in to despair, we are guaranteeing our own defeat and the unimpeded progress of the oppression we most abhor and dread.

What every good autocrat knows:

A depressed, demoralized, disenfranchized and cynical populace doesn't have the energy to fight back. A resilient, energized opposition is a would-be tyrant's worst enemy.
The dictatorship-to-be keeps the public uninformed, assuring them that their feeling of repugnance for ruling policy is a minority position. Then they make the acquisition of information more difficult still by closing down outlets of free expression in the name of "security" and "patriotism."

Now, if individual citizens REFUSE to succumb to the easy Blue Funk brought on by their contemplation of creeping totalitarianism, its progress just might be slowed or stalled long enough to make an all-out ambush on its position possible. Why not? An army is made up of singular men and women, a movement is comprised of the collective actions of individuals, a quashing of potential tyrannies can be the combined acts of single persons keeping truth and hope alive.

Fight tyranny, folks. But also fight your own defeatist demons. Passivity is a luxury the world cannot afford.