An SOS from a red state – I’m losing hope.


When I was younger, Ohio was a swing state and often very influential in elections. We have since turned red. It’s pretty hard to believe that our state once voted for Obama. 

What happened?

I don’t often write about politics because I really don’t want to get into fights with people, but I have something to get off of my chest.

I’m losing hope.

Obviously, I’m not a fan of Republicans. And although I usually vote for Democrats, I’m not a huge fan of that party, either.

With the rise of Bernie and AOC, I thought I would see some real changes made but it feels like their movement has lost momentum. My husband and I donated time and money to their campaigns and felt a tiny bit of hope.

What happened?

My husband and I struggle with everything from student loans to childcare costs. Sometimes it’s hard to accept that this is just how things are and any chances of relief are pretty bleak. 

My husband has a very stressful job and he doesn’t get breaks. There is nothing in Ohio’s laws that requires employers to give their workers breaks. How ridiculous is that? 

Don’t even get me started on my maternity leave.

My husband is very passionate and vocal about politics, often fighting with family and friends on social media.

I’m not as loud, but I still care. I’m just losing hope.

 

Where do you stand? Do you think things will ever change?

Comments

  1. Katydid says

    Great question! I have wondered this myself. I think the bottom line is that there are too many on the left who are held up by their purity and their hypocrisy. Remember in 2016, all the precious pearl-clutchers moaning that they’d be happy to vote for a woman, but just not *her*? Well, look what that got us; a packed Supreme Court that doesn’t think women are human beings and are soooo concerned about “the baybeeeze” that when actual born babies are at risk because of the lack of formula, we hear…crickets.

    Mind you, these are the same precious pure souls who would TOTALLY vote for a woman, just not Clinton…or Warren…or Harris…and oh, not Klobuchar, either, ewwww….but they would TOTALLY vote for a woman!

  2. lanir says

    Change will come but it won’t be fast.

    There isn’t a quick counter to a supreme court decision so the process will have to go the long route. That isn’t really where the change will come from, though. The change is already happening. This is an attempt to hold back the tide and it will fail. The conservative position is that conservatives get to decide who counts as a person or not. Whether we’re talking about skin color, gender, religion or sexual preference doesn’t matter. Conservatives want to claim the right to say who counts as a person and who doesn’t. They aren’t taking the usual divide and conquer strategy, either. They’re treating this one as a victory lap and threatening a whole lot more where this came from.

    I don’t… think that’s going to go very well for them. Vulnerable people will pay the cost.

    Most of us aren’t going to change the world. We’re not the people who are looking for a long enough lever to move the Earth. Our role is to support the people who are trying to do that. The AOCs and the Bernies. And to help the vulnerable people paying the price for bad policies. That’s it. That’s all we have to do. That and not burn out. So if you need time, now’s a great opportunity to step back and take care of yourself. There are a lot of new volunteers to take the fight forward. It doesn’t have to be you. It doesn’t have to be right now. This fight has been going on for a long time and it’ll still be here when you’re ready to deal with it again.

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