>>2683596 (PB)
Dude, for many years I gave zero fucks for politics. I loathed it for all the right reasons and just wished it would "go away".
Now … even thought I am still relatively powerless as an individual and even though I now realize just how big the mess actually IS and the power that is arranged against us, I see a chance that we might be able to un-fuck this mess.
We could actually win.
So, at least for now, I'm fine with putting a lot of other things on the back burner. My wife has gotten used to me typing as she talks. Part of me ACTUALLY IS listening to her and making conversation, but the other part is here … or somewhere else … trying to influence matters with the small voice I DO have.
I'm pretty smart – most of us here are – so I CAN be persuasive from time to time. And every time someone nods their head in agreement, or sits in front of a screen halfway around the world thinking that something I've said makes fresh sense to them, it's as if a very fine ratchet pawl has engaged on a very fine gear in an intricate watch somewhere. It hasn't advanced very far … but it can never go back to where it was again.
This is not wasted time … it is invested time. Battles I fight here may keep my granddaughter from having to fight in an alley somewhere … may let my grandson use the ammunition I reload for hunting instead of defense of his home and family. He's just 11 and she's just 12 … so there IS time to make the needed changes – but none to spare.
I understand your frustration. I should exercise more, reload more, spend more time on a lot of things. But this, I think, is the place that will pay the most dividends over the longest period of time; so, here I am. And here you are. Look at it as just one more means of providing for your family. I do.