"Letting it go."

So, in the last couple of days, in response to my indignation at various things, including Nader's role in giving Missouri to McCain, Hannity et al's extremely classless, cowardly, and dangerous ramping up of anti-Obama rhetoric, the shameful passage of Prop 8 in CA (and similar propositions elsewhere) and Palin, Bachmann, and Lieberman's sudden change of heart and wholesale "embracing" of Obama, I have received numerous emails, posts, and in-person remarks that I should just "let it go" because Obama has won and now that I've gotten what I wanted, there is no need to hammer away at these displays of hypocrisy and shamelessness.

With all due respect, I could not disagree more. I remember back in 2002, when Bush and Cheney began laying the groundwork for their invasion of Iraq and I wondered frequently and loudly whether an illegitimate president could ever start a legitimate war, I was also told to "let it go." And I recall thinking: this is democracy we are talking about- do people really expect me to let it go? And maybe what worried me more is that so many people *were* willing to let it go. (Thank god for people like Greg Palast, Naomi Klein, Mark Crispin Miller, Naomi Wolf, and Joe Conason, who kept me sane during those years.)

So let's look where "letting it go" has gotten us: completely unchecked corporate greed, recession, and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Thousands of unnecessary American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. An almost full-scale loss of global goodwill towards the United States. The disappearance of a $1.6 trillion surplus, and more than $1.2 trillion more in war debt. An unprecedented rolling back of civil liberties. Record-setting unemployment. Millions more homeless and without health insurance than eight years ago. Rising inner-city crime rates. More religious and racial hatred and divisiveness. And the list goes on.

So while I respect my friends' rights to disagree with me (even if I do not share your views), I can promise you that the one thing I can not do now, after the most important election of my (and probably my children and grandchildren's) lifetime is "let it go." If anything, NOW is the time to be more vigilant than ever- to make sure that we actually follow through with the statement we made last Tuesday to take our government back, and give it to "we the people." Now is not the time to be complacent- to let someone like Hannity suggest to his audience of millions that our president-elect might actually be a terrorist. Now is NOT the time to fall back on the lowest-common-denominator. We have been given an opportunity to raise the level of discourse in this country. To bring back dignity and civility in American life. To hold accountable those who would continue- out of their own ambition, greed, or misguided worldview- to keep us shackled to a culture of fear, intolerance, and apathy. I for one am not going to squander that opportunity. It's not just fellow Americans who are counting on each of us to continue to do the right thing, it's our friends around the world, many of whom are struggling now - even risking their lives- for the same rights and liberties that many would say don't *really* need my protection. So de-friend me if you must, rail against my unwillingness to just be grateful we won. Even call me a sore winner.

But I am not letting it go.