2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Do you buy into the single payer fantasy of Sanders? [View all]highprincipleswork
(3,111 posts)The American public has been caught in a toxic garbage dump of propaganda and wrong, negative thinking since the days of Reagan. 9-11 certainly set us back, and the whole country was subjected to full-scale trauma and PTSD. Only recently has the slumbering beast of public opinion picked up its head to roar again, first with Occupy and now with Bernie Sanders.
It's tough to stretch your muscles, have hope again, get yourself heard after such a long time. The beast awakens, in the best sense, like our guardian dragon. It stretches its muscles and its wings.
It is led into battle, for surely there must be a battle when the forces have grown so insidious and so entrenched.
Bernie has not "promised" any of the things he is talking about. He is going for them, however, and thank goodness for that. Plus, he's pointing out the absolute reality that other people all over the world already have much of what we want. American Exceptionalism has let us down in taking care of our most basic human needs and wants. And it didn't used to be this way. It wasn't always this way. There were politicians and policies and philosophies, before the days of Reagan, that knew full well that these Social Services were not only necessary but popular in the most radical way.
Bernie is reminding us of these things, and offering to lead us in the fight to implement them, protect them, and to go even further in lightening the load on the average person in the United States.
At the same time, he insists we have to do this together. No dropping off the followers after election, 50 state strategy all the way, all in this together. In it to win it.
I'd really like to know what is so bad about that? Why wouldn't more people, Progressives especially, like to come along and join this struggle, join this fight?
For me, I know that some people's nervous systems may simply not be ready for this kind of transition into this kind of political action. Some people might feel the need to fight or resist him or resist this struggle or message as much as anything else. But I do encourage them to stretch their arms out, towards these goals and towards each other. It feels good. It is a valiant, righteous struggle and fight. Let it continue, until we win.