I’m rather glad many of my friends are finally waking up to the fact that politicians lie. It’s somewhat sad to watch the vicious and painful transition one has to make when they go from believing their “representatives” have the best intentions of their constituents in mind to knowing said “representatives” have only their own self-interset in mind. This fact has become apparent with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which Al Franken (former hero of my friends for his support of net neutrality) and Amy Klobuchar (I have no idea what anybody every liked her) are cosponsors of.
At this point I would say many of my friends are experiencing one of the five stages of grief. Some are still in denial, trying to convince themselves that this is a mistake and that both senators will revoke their cosponsorship one they receive an e-mail or letter explaining what SOPA really is. Other friends are in the stage of anger, they demand to know what justification either senator has to supporting this bill. A few are at the stage of bargaining, hoping they can offer the senators something in exchange for revocation of their sponsorship of the bill. Just a couple of my friends have progressed for the fourth stage of depression, they are finally realized that their elected “representatives” care not at all for their constituency. I would put myself at the stage of acceptance as I know our “representatives” don’t care about anybody but themselves and honestly I don’t really care anymore. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) I never had to transcend the five stages of grief in regards to my political views because I never really believed politicians existed for any reason other than fucking us all over to get what they want. Due to this fact I can’t offer my friends any help of advice to make their transcendence through the stages of grief any easier.
I can offer some small advice to those currently in the bargaining stage. You may believe Franken and Klobuchar care about your vote but ultimately they do not. This is because one vote has never turned an election and they have legions of loyal suckers willing to reelect them next year. Both senators also enjoy the state of being incumbents and we all know incumbents enjoy a very high chance of reelection unless they’ve done something incredibly despicable (think personally scandalous, not fucking over their constituency by voting for bad legislation since few voters keep track of such things). While you offer your vote your competition, those supporting SOPA, are offering massive campaign contributions and the promise of plush, well-paying lobbyist jobs when the senators exit politics. In a very real sense one side is offering nothing at all while the other is offering untold riches and power.
I’m sorry many of you have to wakeup to this fact the hard way. Having your entire world view smashed is never easy but I can say for certainty, as somebody who has accepted the situation for what it is, that things get better. Once you realize you’re being fucked over and learn how you’re being fucked over your attitude improves greatly. There is something uplifting about simply having this knowledge.