Maybe it’s because we are still fighting a war, for which there is no responsible resolution. Maybe it’s the dull realization that our Democratic Congress cannot or will not intervene to halt the perpetuation of torture, secrecy, and surveillance. Or maybe it’s nostalgia, for a time real or imagined when the press, the judicial system and elected leaders fought for what was right. Whatever the reason, over the past few weeks the country’s pundits have been self-reflecting, quietly turning in their recycled outrage at the administration’s injustices and wondering instead why we, the educated and appalled electorate, seem capable of little more than pummeling the virtual world with sound and fury, signifying nothing.
The question, of course, is how to protest. Harper’s has some suggestions. As for our national despair, well, acceptance is the first step towards recovery.
—Casey Miner
