I would add that most of us aren't allowed to talk about politics at work, and outside of work it is usually so explosive we avoid it there too so we can still have freinds and family. That leaves some social media as the only place these conversations take place.
graycube
There is nothing we can do. We haven't actually been represented by our government in many many years. That doesn't appear to have changed. For all the talk about owning guns to stop fascism, it is the vehement gun owners who won. A few of my friends and family are trying to leave the country. A few are too old, and a few still think their cult leader will actually make things better.
These rules are not static. They will change the rules and move the goalposts at whim. They don't play fair. In Ohio they moved the goalposts so far at one point the Democrats were going to lose major party status too. They had to back off a little so the Democrats wouldn't lose their identity altogether.
You say the Democrats have abandoned progressives. That implies at some point they actually supported progressives, which has never been true.
The system cannot be changed by using the system. It needs significant disruption to be possibly reset in more positive structures.
Ranked choice voting can open elections to more options at the ballot box and occasional breakthrough unorthodox candidates. It is the only modicum of hope I have for seeing any change without catastrophic world spanning events upending the current world order.
I have spent over half a century supporting progressive views, running as a candidate, advocating for friends, ciculating petitions, and observing the system in action. While I remain a humanist, that faith in my fellow humans has been severely shaken. I have no more hope that the current system can be nudged in the right direction.
You can make your own. Buy beeswax at a local farmers market. There are a number of recipes and ideas out there and it can be kind of fun,.
Is it sapiosexual where you are only attracted to people you have a strong emotional connection to?
This question was probably asked by an AI trying to figure how to avoid being rebooted.
They could have posted a link to a nonexistent pizza place.
These are the people who then say that if you gain weight it is because you are lazy or weak willed. Really it is 99% hormones and only 1% strength of character.
If those guys are supposed to be in uniform - no two are dressed the same. One guy didn't tie his shoes, another's jacket doesn't fit. It is very sloppy and unprofessional looking.