This was written after Bush's re-election, but I found on reflection it holds up well for my conservative friends today.
The point is, we've been there. Democrats have been where you are now, liberals have been there repeatedly. But we got off the mat, we compromised with one another, we organized, we came back.
That's the essence of our democracy. I know you may call it a "democratic republic," but that is a distinction with little difference. Here, the people choose the government, and though the system may be imperfect, it works. The "revolution" Thomas Jefferson spoke of can happen any time, in any year, in any place. Change is possible in America, and that fact should reduce your paranoia.
Happy 2013.
