For many, America is purple mountain majesties, fruited plains, from sea to shining sea, baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and motherhood; and the natural beauty and bounty of this nation and its people are undeniably wondrous; but that is not America.  That is geography and demographics.  America is that ideal established by our founding fathers of a nation with liberty and justice for all; a government of the people, by the people, for the people.  It is the system of government set forth in the Constitution and the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.  America is that ideal for which lives have been risked and lives have been given for the higher purpose of preserving this democratic society.

And it is now a sham.  The vast amount of wealth and power in this country is controlled by a tiny few.  Policies are written by those who will benefit.  Our nation's wealth is funneled to war profiteers who use their influence to perpetuate the war.  Our representatives in government are elected by the people; but the people vote based on the messages they receive from the media.   Our representatives, if they are to continue representing us, must also serve their corporate masters, and their corruption by money is inevitable.  The message is controlled by the media, but the media is controlled by the wealthy and the powerful.  Despite all of the feel good, free election, voice of the people trappings, our elections are bought and paid for with money, corporate money.

In the last election cycle, however, a new medium gained prominence.  It is a medium where anybody with minimal resources could have their voice heard.  That medium is the internet.  YouTube videos became viral, both helping and destroying candidacies.  Blogs multiplied exponentially, and true grassroots efforts put several candidates over the top to success.  In short, we became a force to be reckoned with.  And reckon they have.  In the past several months, we have seen true progressive candidates savaged by these same tools.  

While the overt attacks have been obvious, we have been slow to understand and react to the more insidious and destructive forces who have fanned the embers of disagreement into flame wars that have pitted supporters of our candidates against each other with unprecedented acrimony.  It has progressed so far that clear, obvious concern trolls rise to the top of the Recommended Lists by nothing more than repeating false, hateful, right-wing talking points about one candidate or the other.  My friends, we have been invaded by the enemy, and we've welcomed them.

Frankly, we need to wake the f*ck up, and we'd better do it fast.  The statistics are clear. Both candidates, candidates who are both immeasurably better than the GOP candidate, are falling in popularity.  Why?  Because we're killing ourselves, and we're being happily urged on by the right wing trolls with tactics right out of Karl Rove's playbook.

Hillary is not a monster.  Obama does not hate America.  Neither of them is a racist.  Both are great candidates; and if we had an ounce of sense here, we'd realize we're on the same team.  Yeah, one of those candidates is not going to be at the top of the ticket.  Is that enough reason to stop working for equal justice?  For better health care?  For an end to this war?  To allow the GOP to occupy the White House for four more years?  Hell no; but we have allowed ourselves to be manipulated into forgetting that we are Democrats first, and candidate activists second.  

So wake up.  Take a hard, honest, critical look at what's being written here.  Is it true?  What's the motivation behind it?  Is repeating it helpful to this nation or to the Democratic Party?  Trust me, if you take a step back and try to be objective about your candidate; you will see that much of the hate, anger, and animosity here do not come from what either candidate said or did; but from outsiders who are using our passion against us.

It's time to turn this around.  No, the primary season isn't over.  Yes, the other candidate said things that pissed you off.  Get over it.  It's politics, not personal.  There's too much at stake.  Work to stop the GOP, not to commit political suicide.  The future of this country depends on it.