The "don't worry about it" gang

Longtime So Cal resident Charles Carr is a nationally published journalist and playwright. His award-winning Southpaw column has appeared in college textbooks published by Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, Bedford, and others. Charles writes Southpaw for his hometown newspapers, The Times-Advocate and The Roadrunner.

I remember as a kid someone telling me how in the future entrenched interests and existing power structures would fight back ferociously against efforts to undo the messes they were, at that time, just beginning to make. In my young mind I imagined the battle would be clear, like in a movie; valiant warriors on faithful steeds battling dinosaurs in their death throes. You'd know which side you were on and the then a fierce battle would ensue and then you would win. What an 11-year-old fool I was! It's only later in life we learn that resistance to change almost never comes head on. It comes from an angle, a double head-fake, in the guise of a smiling face and comforting words. And great hair. Like Fox News. Or (shudder) Newsmax.

The conservative thought-shaping machine -- which includes the full tableau of TV personalities, a large majority of talk radio and podcasts, the Republican House, and the former president -- are the "don't worry about it" gang, spewing the exact same go-shopping-and-we'll-take-care-of-it message delivered by George W. Bush following 9/11, even as his neocon nitwits were in the process of ramping up the disastrous war in Iraq. When they're not busy hiding behind the "we're only entertainment" defense any individual cog defaults to every time they're hauled into civil court, the "don't worry about it" gang has the primary function of convincing Americans that leaving things just as they are is not only right, it's courageous and noble.

Oh, and let's not forget the kicker: that anyone who opposes the "don't worry about it" gang is below consideration as a human being or, as Tucker Carlson so charmingly put it moments after the guilty verdict in Trump's election interference trial: "Anyone who defends this verdict is a danger to you and your family."

Just incredible.

But these are not simple times and we have problems which are only getting worse the more we "don't worry about it." Let's look at a few.

• Energy: Our centuries-old system of extracting energy from the earth is ending. Yes, there's still plenty of it in the ground, but it's getting increasingly hard to get at and doing so is damaging our planet irreparably. Question: Why in the world would anyone cheer the notion of sending young people down into deadly coal mines when they can be up in the sunshine on their neighbors roofs installing solar panels or in the fresh, clean air erecting US-made windmills across America's vast wind alley?

• Climate: Utah Republican senator Mike Lee has noted that the solution to climate change is to “fall in love, get married, and have some kids... More babies mean more forward-looking adults -- the sort we need to tackle long-term, large-scale problems.” Perfect. The same old put it off on the next generation shtick that has gotten us into the jam we're in today. Folks, the big wheel has spun and it is OUR number which has come up. We can continue to stick our heads in the sand but not when it's under three feet of water.

• Retirement security: The generations-long, death-by-a-thousand-cuts abdication of pension and healthcare benefits by U.S. companies of their workers must be addressed. According to money.com, "The percentage of workers in the private sector whose only retirement account is a defined benefit pension plan is now 4%, down from 60% in the early 1980s." We all know plenty of people who rely on Social Security as their sole retirement benefit. Companies must either contribute more to the federal system or step up to the plate the way they used to.

• Immigration: Yes, they've been slow to get to the dance and, yes, I know there's some political kabuki theater going on here, but Democrats do understand that the border is a serious issue. To wit, President Biden's recent executive order denying asylum claims to most migrants crossing the border unlawfully. Considering Republicans have now twice defeated a bipartisan Senate bill overhauling amnesty and judicial processes which have contributed greatly to the problem, maybe the only way to get this done will be with solid Dem majorities in both houses. Just sayin'.

• A woman's right to choose: With a flood of recent anti-choice legislative and judicial rulings across red states, are you even kidding me?

Republican strategist Frank Luntz famously noted that, when it comes to getting a message into the minds of the American people, "There’s a simple rule: You say it again, and you say it again, and you say it again, and you say it again, and you say it again, and then again and again and again and again, and about the time that you’re absolutely sick of saying it is about the time that your target audience has heard it for the first time."

In the six short months between now and the Nov. 2024 election, Dems will continue to deliver a clear, powerful message to every American, building on a breathtaking series of accomplishments over the past four years including the CHIPS Act, federal funding for red-flag laws, a gun-safety bill with expanded background checks, the infrastructure law, the COVID-19 relief package, the postal reform bill, military aid for Ukraine and Israel, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women act, a raft of rulings by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a restoration of net neutrality, and many more -- most if not all of which the Trump administration was loathe to address, much less acknowledge, and will almost certainly be either hobbled or flat-out rescinded if he's reelected.

And that's the message we'll be delivering.

Don't worry about it.