Jordan, you are right, of course.

The barons are still in charge.

Maybe the difference is that I think social justice through democracy is possible.

Maybe you think so, too.

I am tired of pessimism that is too close to complacency; of conspiracy theories that are just lazy thinking; of resentments based on ignorance; of self-righteousness rooted in abstract utopianism.

The cultural divide in this country might be addressed by means of some hopeful self-criticism, rather than by self-pity & despair. That is, coasters on the left might share the goal of social justice with "Middle America", if they look beyond their own bogeymen (rabid fundamentalists & scheming plutocrats).