Weary and wary

It sometimes seems that as a progressive, the entire system is against us. And I’m not the only one who feels that way, as evidenced by the TYT shirt “Progressives vs. Everybody” and similar ones found elsewhere.

The 2022 primaries have brought some progressive wins (John Fetterman, and so far most of the Squad and their allies) but also some big losses — Nina Turner and Jessica Cisneros come to mind in particular. As well as the first Justice Democrat incumbent to ever lose: Marie Newman.

But the fight must, and does, continue. I used to confuse the words “weary” and “wary” all the time, and still have to pause for a second when typing to make sure I’ve got the right one. But right now, I’m both.

I’m weary of (tired from) losses not just for progressive politicians, but the actions of those in Washington to keep stripping away our rights, to let or help corporations amass more riches instead of serving the American people.

I’m also wary of (suspicious/watchful about) the news when it tries to convince us that the people did get a victory over monied interests. The media were praising Manchin for finally agreeing to a climate deal. As the details have come out, there are a lot of goodies for the fossil fuel industry — it’s a watered-down version of last year’s Build Back Better legislation that already was not going to be enough. and surprise, surprise: Kirsten Sinema hasn’t signed on yet, which means this deal is probably far from finalized.

Which means it’s probably that time again — it’s time to pull out the ol’ Establishment Democrat Bingo card! I made it last year, but unfortunately it still works today. We’ll have to see which excuses they use this time for giving Americans, and our planet, crumbs while the rich and powerful continue to make obscene amounts of money off of our dying planet.