Donna Smith: Dear Americans, please stop dreaming of a better nation

[LuckyTheDog]

This political season seems decidedly more bizarre than others have been. It’s not just the fact that someone as arrogant and ignorant about real life as Donald Trump is leading on the Republican side. What really troubles me is the assertion that we ought not aspire to achieve the best, most equitable and just solutions to our most serious problems because that is unrealistic, politically infeasible and dooms us to fail. This criticism of Bernie Sanders’ platform is really unsettling.

This argument that we ought to tamp down our political aspirations has taken many forms as it is oft repeated by those politicos who seem terrified that Bernie might actually win the Democratic presidential nomination. Some say it’s the difference between going with the heart or the head. Others have suggested that you have to ground yourself in reality to actually get things done. And still others seem to suggest that the reason Bernie does so well with young people is that they are somehow hopelessly idealistic and not yet willing to see the realities of political feasibility.

Wow. I think these arguments might be the most unacceptable and bizarre part of the presidential primary season. Who would ever want to ask our young people to scale back their dreams and goals? As Americans, I thought we have always prided ourselves on our unbridled optimism and our ability to do what others do not believe they can do. We are a nation of dreamers and a nation of doers. And I want every young person in America to keep attaching themselves to a powerful narrative of building a better future. My generation hasn’t done so well so far in leaving a legacy of improved conditions, and Bernie offers that hope to me and to the young alike. That is powerful stuff. Why would we ever want to temper that?

MORE HERE: http://yonside.com/stop-dreaming-of-a-better-nation/

[loyalsister]

1. I think I get it

"This argument that we ought to tamp down our political aspirations has taken many forms as it is oft repeated by those politicos who seem terrified that Bernie might actually win the Democratic presidential nomination."

I think some feel really discouraged. So many of us were walking on air for weeks after Obama was elected. It makes sense to me that some of the people who have been discouraged by how he has been treated and blocked at every angle that they would rather not expect much in the future.

I would guess that elected officials are so tired of fighting they would rather have low expectations. Especially since their job is to do so much of the heavy lifting on behalf of the president.

I can see why people feel that way and I think Hillary understands that there are many people who want nothing to do with anything that resembles "hope and Change."

A president who does not remember that we not just talking about our own futures and our own willingness to settle because we're too tired to fight. This is about other people, too. It's about the voters who are angry because they're not feeling the economic recovery. They know that the blockage in the pathway for them to benefit is a system that supports income inequality.

Why would they want to be told to settle for the insurance premiums that are creating a strain on their income? Why would they accept anything less than a president who respects the fact that they are living with guilt and sadness over not being able to send their kids to college knowing that if they decide to do it on their own, they will acquire a mountain of debt.

The present is bleak for a lot of people. They want more for their families and young people want to be able to expect a bright future. Hillary tells them to settle, Bernies says let's work towards policies that ordinary people can feel as a positive force in their lives and something that will give people a reason to feel optimistic.

Maybe a lot of it boils down to Hillary's supporters are too tired to do anything but settle for the status quo, and Bernie's supporters' have an investment in the future that demands that they strive for real change.