Now I have had a chance to think about this last election cycle and putting to one side the personalities for the time being.

Premise

Republican Party Partisans
Decided that their establishment did not give two figs about them and went for something that has been coming for a long time now, an authoritarian demagogue.

Democratic Party Partisans
Decided that they would entrench themselves on the side of the establishment, with all the baggage that that entails and presented the electorate with a perfect exemplar of all that baggage.

As I said before the election this would be a toss up as this was an election at near the end of a cycle of partisan "not as bad as" being a driver. We still have partisan divisiveness driving the rhetoric but they are each shouting in their deliberately chosen bubbles. Any divergence from their specific "common wisdom" is shouted down by the partisans any warnings ridiculed. It was the first election where I was told that any vote I cast against each sides chosen was worth two votes, even if I voted for neither, well hallelujah, I was a one woman case of voter fraud.

As is usual after an election the losing partisans are looking around for someone to blame and as is also usual, they blame anybody but themselves. Being outside of that specific camp, I am of course part of the problem.

What was evident even before the primaries got under way.

• That income inequality was a major issue, especially when the 99% bailed out the richest from a crisis of the richest own makings and even thrown out of their own homes as a very special thank you.
• That congress and the establishment were about as popular as head lice.
• That people felt the were not represented and even remotely listened to.
• That all the "isms" and "wedge issues" rather than being addressed, were merely tools to be hurled as insults at each other. This rule is still in effect. Those of us that belong to a "wedge issue" group have the bruises to prove it.

What both sets of partisans managed to do very well was shout at anyone who disagreed in any way with them, eventually someone we will all regret took advantage of that senseless divisiveness. If you looked, even just glanced, you could see this coming a mile off, it took no intelligence whatsoever.

What we have now is both sets of partisans shoving their heads further up the own asses and refusing to listen, "we won" and "we blame you for losing", we are going to find out soon enough where all this leads.

A couple of quotes that spring to mind.

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
― Sun Tzu

Revolutionaries do not make revolutions. The revolutionaries are those who know when power is lying in the street and then they can pick it up.”
~Hannah Arendt

We saw these in action

A couple of quotes to remember in the aftermath.

To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.
~Arundati Roy

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
~ Confucius

It's a dark time when insular "groupthink" holds sway

• Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
• Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
• Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
• Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.
• Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
• Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
• Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
• Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

I do hope that some involved in this recognise themselves and yes, I have at some point been guilty of being sucked in.

Time to get the hell out of this pernicious playground.

Time to fight back and avoid the current collusion.

Time not to make the same fucking mistakes.

Time to listen and not sound like a broken record.

A golden opportunity for a real debate was lost in all the noise, now we all have to deal with the consequences.

Just a thought