Learning from our enemies - the low energy left

After each Trump controversy, bloggers and news commentators have time and time again noted how much more chaotic and how much bigger of a blowback there would be if Trump had a D by his name instead of an R.

One of Trump's least vulgar insults towards Clinton was that she was "low energy". While whatever "energy" Trump is exuding is certainly toxic, it seems he is correct that the left's overall energy is much lower, that the threshold for what the left considers a successful 'protest' is much lower than the right, and that the left's threshold for what it takes for an outrage to be "actionable" is much higher.

At this point, I think everyone on Earth is aware of this sentiment. The real question is, why haven't we realized "high-energy" rightists aren't going to fight our battles against the most corrupt and mentally unstable US administration in living memory for us? If we want things to change, WE have to be the ones to apply the pressure. That's why there isn't the same level of outrage against Trump as there was Obama--it's on us to make that noise; we're the only ones who think what's going on is bad.

The real focus shouldn't be about Trump supporters--this is really about the character of Trump critics. Of course Trump supporters (who are drawn to his bigotry, braggadocio, and "matter of fact" insensitivity he shows his opponents) support Trump!!! Politics has been an us vs them circus for decades, and voters don't really care about the policies themselves or even integrity--they merely trust that their faction will favor the clientele who voted them into office. The real news scoop is why the hell leftists have acquired Learned Helplessness Syndrome...

Why are so many resigned to accept this fate when Republicans had enough energy to sabotage Obama for 8 years merely because of his skin color?

It's only taken a year and a half of left-wing inaction towards the Trump administration, but some are starting to realize the points I am trying to get across.

Disappointingly, we have reached an outrage fatigue where Trump opponents have been so worn down by controversies that we have depleted our energy and gone into a coma of helplessness. If it turns out that Putin himself visited the White House and played golf with Trump,* would we even have enough energy left to care? (Meanwhile, rightists have enough energy to continue blaming Obama and Clinton for many setbacks Trump has faced--over a YEAR after they have left the scene).

Where is the left wing's "Dragon Energy"? Who will emerge as the 21st century MLK, Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, JFK, and Malcolm X? We need more than people who will give us a rousing election campaign--promising hope, change, and "political revolution"--and then casually drift back into same-old-same-old when the spectacle is over. We need individuals who will indefatigably carry on the struggle until the end.

If Obama had the same character as Trump and was embroiled in the same number of controversies, we may very well have found ourselves experiencing a new "nullification crisis" and riots of the same magnitude as those which fermented around the Civil War and Civil Rights era. Meanwhile, people critical of Trump talk about "constitutional crisis" as if it's no big deal and view impeachment as 'too unrealistic' to get ourselves worked up over (despite ever-mounting evidence that he is in violation of the Emoluments Clause and has obstructed justice--not to mention the growing number of administration and campaign team members who find themselves in legal trouble), and business continues as usual.

* Ironically, not long after I began drafting this post, Trump actually invited Putin to the White House during a congratulatory phone call--almost a month after Russia attempted to assassinate an ex-spy on British soil. Although it's only been a few months, this story is already buried under countless others as the outrage cycle continues.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kremlin-says-trump-has-invited-putin-to-white-house/

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I believe one of the biggest causes for the left's depression is because most leftists have nothing to fight for. No vision, no idealistic hopes, no end goals--other than surviving the rightist onslaught of racism, sexism, and identitarianism as long as possible with no other mission objectives or goals.

To remedy this, we need our own vision of what America should be, and outline the steps it will take to get us there. Rightists have their slogan of "Make America Great Again"--which really just means 'bring the US back to pre-Civil Rights social norms'. To those aware of the dog-whistle, this is a clear goal with a clear endpoint, even if it is repulsive. For the left, decades of Politically Correct relativism and pessimism have duped us into thinking that (1) all goals are equally-valid, and therefore we mustn't offend anyone by actually committing to one and (2) even if we do pick a goal, they are all flawed in some manner anyway or we may fail to achieve them, and therefore we shouldn't even bother.

The remedy is to commit to a goal--manifesting an authentically American civilization free of Western racism, sexism, and all other forms of bigotry--and to use our unceasing idealism to stop demotivating ourselves by wallowing in misery over the societal ills that exist, and instead focus on how to overcome these flaws to make America what it SHOULD always have been, and CAN STILL BE.

Most importantly, belief is not enough. We must act. The right-wing has come to control the majority of state governments, countless local governments, and every branch of federal government, not because they are invincible, but because the left's actions are insufficient. Holding a cardboard sign for a few hours is not enough, we must vote for lawmakers who are willing to change things. Voting is not enough, we must hold lawmakers to their word and ensure they uphold their duty to serve Americans by ruthlessly scrutinizing every lapse of ethics and all their business dealings and donors.

Focusing on political elections is not enough, we must reach out to our local community to foster connections from the ground up. And merely making connections is not enough. We must rebuild America--culturally, economically, socially, and spiritually--from the ground up. As so many on both the left and right have recognized, the current order of things is utterly corrupt, incompetent, and going nowhere.

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Reassuringly, things seem to be heating up at the top levels--with the Mueller investigation chugging along at full speed and charismatic attorney Michael Avenatti bringing a refreshing amount of energy back to the "hold Trump responsible" camp.

But, little will happen to the Trump administration if Congress is too indecisive to act, and if the left is too apathetic to force Democrat politicians to ramp up the pressure on the administration (because by now it is obvious that nearly every Republican politician has made their choice to cling to Trump until the end). And ultimately, nothing in our nation will change in the long term without lasting cultural and legal changes.

Let's not wait until 2076 to regain the spirit of '76.