Post-Election 2016
We interrupt our regularly scheduled writing-and-SF-related blog posts to talk briefly about politics. In the days following the 2016 election, there's been a lot of fear and anger.
There are plenty of things I could say. Commentary, analysis, fears. Complaints about Trump's complete ineptness at the role and horrible track record of lies, hate, and misogyny. Bitterness about the democratic party forcing us to accept Clinton as their candidate.
For now, I don't want to wax too political. And frankly, while I try to stay up to date, I'm not the most experienced or informed when it comes to politics. I have one point I want to make. Before that, the three most important issues to me personally:
1. Donald Trump has enabled others to feel safe voicing and acting upon extreme bigotry.
2. Hillary Clinton is so disliked and mistrusted, she absolutely did not inspire people to vote for her.
3. Now Donald Trump, as president-elect, will become a role model for children, who look up to the president.
Number three gives me chills. Within one week, schoolchildren are already bullying their peers from minorities, and boys are harassing girls without shame. Set aside, for now, the hundred other horrible things about Trump I could whine about. Or even the fact that he lost the popular vote, and people are trying to petition the electoral college to go against their states' votes. Or how about the cabinet and everyone else he's going to surround himself with, and the damage to the environment he'll cause, and foreign affairs, and if I don't stop now I'm going to end up writing a whole novel about how upset I am.
The point I actually want to make is to promote independent media, and the importance of staying informed.
The Young Turks, in particular, is my bastion of hope. A progressive online news/talk show hosted by Cenk Uygur, and one of the largest online shows around. The most important thing about them is that they are not funded by any outside donors--they only take money from members (viewers), and therefore aren't beholden to anyone other than their viewers. They mainly cover politics, but they also talk about a range of important news in the US, as well as the occasional "odd" news.
Why is this important?
They're not paid to promote an agenda. They do each have personal biases, but they're upfront about them (and they totally argue with each other sometimes). They cover some topics that mainstream media often glosses over. They make a lot of accurate predictions, and frankly, they know what they're doing.
It's easy to feel powerless and helpless. I don't feel like I, me, personally, Amber, can do all that much to change things. I can sit here feeling frustrated, and be supportive of the people in my life, but staring up at the face of money corrupting politics, or corporations destroying livelihoods, it doesn't feel like there's much any individual can do about that. But over there at TYT headquarters, they're waving the flag, a banner to rally under. Because Cenk and co. do know how to effect change, and do know how to get things done. So I can throw my support at them and tell like-minded others to do the same.
And if you're not convinced, here's an angry Cenk on election night, after it became obvious Trump was going to win, on how to help.
There are plenty of things I could say. Commentary, analysis, fears. Complaints about Trump's complete ineptness at the role and horrible track record of lies, hate, and misogyny. Bitterness about the democratic party forcing us to accept Clinton as their candidate.
For now, I don't want to wax too political. And frankly, while I try to stay up to date, I'm not the most experienced or informed when it comes to politics. I have one point I want to make. Before that, the three most important issues to me personally:
1. Donald Trump has enabled others to feel safe voicing and acting upon extreme bigotry.
2. Hillary Clinton is so disliked and mistrusted, she absolutely did not inspire people to vote for her.
3. Now Donald Trump, as president-elect, will become a role model for children, who look up to the president.
Number three gives me chills. Within one week, schoolchildren are already bullying their peers from minorities, and boys are harassing girls without shame. Set aside, for now, the hundred other horrible things about Trump I could whine about. Or even the fact that he lost the popular vote, and people are trying to petition the electoral college to go against their states' votes. Or how about the cabinet and everyone else he's going to surround himself with, and the damage to the environment he'll cause, and foreign affairs, and if I don't stop now I'm going to end up writing a whole novel about how upset I am.
The point I actually want to make is to promote independent media, and the importance of staying informed.
The Young Turks, in particular, is my bastion of hope. A progressive online news/talk show hosted by Cenk Uygur, and one of the largest online shows around. The most important thing about them is that they are not funded by any outside donors--they only take money from members (viewers), and therefore aren't beholden to anyone other than their viewers. They mainly cover politics, but they also talk about a range of important news in the US, as well as the occasional "odd" news.
Why is this important?
They're not paid to promote an agenda. They do each have personal biases, but they're upfront about them (and they totally argue with each other sometimes). They cover some topics that mainstream media often glosses over. They make a lot of accurate predictions, and frankly, they know what they're doing.
It's easy to feel powerless and helpless. I don't feel like I, me, personally, Amber, can do all that much to change things. I can sit here feeling frustrated, and be supportive of the people in my life, but staring up at the face of money corrupting politics, or corporations destroying livelihoods, it doesn't feel like there's much any individual can do about that. But over there at TYT headquarters, they're waving the flag, a banner to rally under. Because Cenk and co. do know how to effect change, and do know how to get things done. So I can throw my support at them and tell like-minded others to do the same.
And if you're not convinced, here's an angry Cenk on election night, after it became obvious Trump was going to win, on how to help.
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