I don't feel afraid or even pessimistic.

[boston bean]

Yes we are in a shitstorm right now, yes.

But I know this ship will be righted.

There are way many more good people than the nasty ass fake christians who by way of hook and crook brought us to this bad place.

I feel a real sense of community. Of goodness. Of the kindness of people.

Last Tuesday was the first step.

I should add this may change. LOL

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I agree.

But I've always been an optimist.

[fierywoman]

2. I'm totally with you (warning: I'm wildly optimistic by nature!) --

I believe that when all this shit is said and done, we (USA - Americans) will be better off because we will have been forced to get off our fat asses (I'm speaking personally here) and stand up for a way of life we believe in, instead of taking it for granted, which we (north-) Americans always have in the past.

Trump, the fucking moron, in the end, will have been a blessing because he provoked this.

Doom-and-gloomers, pessimists, "realists", -- please let it go, just this time. I respect your right to your opinion, utterly.

"I dream, therefore I am." -- Antonia Sautter

[sprinkleeninow]

13. A life believed in, and FOUGHT FOR.

You're correct. Many of us, (I resemble this!), become comfy cozy and may take for granted all the good aspects of being USofA American.

Now comes an 'awakening'. Here cometh the dawn.

[fierywoman]

19. Have you seen this recent Robert Reich ?

It's about Trump not governing and therefore is not really the president:

[mopinko]

20. really good, thanks.

[Nay]

3. I was cheered up by the results here in VA. I tried not to have any expectations, and

was wildly happy with what happened. I think Dems are coming out of the woodwork and some Republicans are finally getting repulsed by their party.

[Squinch]

4. I'm kind of scared to death, but I'm going to fake it till we make it, and try to trust that you

have a better sense of things than I do.

I've always been a worrier.

[boston bean]

5. I can't say I don't worry. I do for sure.

But I do really feel that good will win out over this. And that will be so even if they the vote in a perverted asswipe in Alabama.

[Squinch]

8. Alabama is a different universe. Even polls tightening there makes me think things are changing.

[boston bean]

9. Yep. I agree. We will see what happens there. That group has some very motivated voters.

But Trump and those like him motivate people who do not agree with this.

Some places might be close. Others like we saw in VA.

We just have to turn out the vote.

[MLAA]

6. I too am feeling a bit more optimistic..

But it might be that I just finished a Transcendental Mediation course and am meditating for 20 mins twice a day.

[Aristus]

7. Thank you.

That picked me right up. It's why I've stayed here at DU for so long; there are always those who will give you a helping hand, who will be a shining light in dark times.

As times go, these are pretty dark.

We need more people like you...

[boston bean]

10. And people like you who help others every day. Thank you for the kind words.

[calimary]

17. They're well-deserved, boston bean.

Buoyed me up a little, too. Last Tuesday didn't hurt, either.

[boston bean]

18. Last Tuesday certainly helped.

[barbtries]

11. i'm day to day.

i try to keep a historical perspective. but then i haven't got all that long to live anymore...it's been bad, maybe even worse...the government is headed by a wannabe Putin who is unimaginably corrupt and the republicans will not do shit about it...the sky is falling...the sky will not fall.

even when i feel hopeful, i cannot deny that we are living in perilous times.

[boston bean]

12. I vascillate too. Some of this shit is so overwhelming. But in the end seems to me like time

Will work this out. And good people will prevail.

[paleotn]

14. Same here...

There's tons of work left to do, but I feel the tide has turned. Rethugs lost 19 House seats and counting in VA....many of which were supposedly unassailable by Dems. This is just the beginning. And Roy Moore? Dear god in heaven...the Rethugs are screwed either way with that clown.

[byronius]

15. I'm with you, this is all good.

Better to die as a culture than live like we have been. Russia's done us a service by identifying our utter weakness as a shallow consumer pit bereft of depth and critical thinking. To survive the future we'll have to reinvent ourselves and focus on the strength of each individual stitch in the fabric. A nation of well-read, thoughtful individuals would be immune to tactics like Russia's.

Electronic election theft, gerrymandering, truly fake news -- they seem to serve the side that embraces them as a tactic until the True Enemy reaches in and twists it around to defeat the whole.

This has been an ugly look into our nation's Id. We'll either fix ourselves or die trying -- and the written record of that attempt may inspire future survivors to take heed.

Foolishness is always corrected harshly by our ultimate arbiter -- Old Man Reality.

[fierywoman]

21. I so agree. We also have to shift our spending priorities to education

from pre-K on. We have enough bombs, boys, We have enough aircraft carriers and airplanes. And we sure as hell don't need a wall;what we need is the creative spirit and energy of our Latin American brothers and sisters.

[Initech]

16. I think the more we call out our nasty fake Christians...

The more the people will wake up and realize they're being played for chumps. These motherfuckers are coming after the Johnson Amendment. We can't let them do that. Because God knows what will happen if they do.