Twenty years today. What a long strange trip it's been.

[bluesbassman]

After Bush the Lesser was reelected in 2004, I was really disheartened over the state of national politics and began seeking answers. I had never been involved in any online chats or forums before that, but my research led me to some left leaning sites like Smirking Chimp and Bartcop, which eventually led me to DU where I lurked and read for about a year until I finally joined on May 14th, 2005 and started slowly engaging in discussions. Bartcop and those others really helped lift my spirits in those dark days, but getting involved in the DU community definitely kept me sane, and provided a way to express my feelings and learn a lot. Then came the Obama election, and I really thought we had turned a corner, only to realize that our country was still as racist as it always was, which led in a straight line to the election of the most unqualified individual to ever occupy the Oval Office. The next four years were a horror show and I was disheartened once again, but 2020 rolled around and once again some sanity reined in the White House. Sadly, four years later the Nation decided to give insanity another chance, and here we are on the precipice of seeing the great experiment in Democracy crumble and vanish.

So here I am, twenty years later, having weathered some truly awful times, and some pretty good ones. The constant though has always been my friends (some of whom I've actually become close to IRL) here at DU, including the many terms I served on the MIRT team. Like any family, we argue and disagree, but for the most part it's a place where you can express your thoughts, and gain some valuable insight. It's been a refuge and a hangout, and I'm forever grateful that I stumbled across Skinner's little site all those years ago, and look forward to many more.