Here in the U.S., one of the hot topics you'll see online currently at this point in time in 2016, is the upcoming presidential election. On the Democrat side, there's a particular candidate that rather popular with our youth with a clever catchphrase to boot, "Feel The Bern!", they're running around posting on their social networking pages! And good for them, I suppose... naive as it is. Better than being apathetic. Anyway, despite all that, I personally haven't been sold on what "The Bern" is selling. I find him to be likable, but rather naive and short-sighted for a man his age and of his intelligence, and as far the promises he's making, let's just say I feel like he's writing some checks that he definitely will not be able to cash if, and that's a big fat IF, he actually does get elected president. Anyway, here's a couple of takes about The Bern from a couple guys from a forum that I follow, who I don't necessarily agree with or have much in common on a personal level for that matter, but that are much better at articulating this kinda jargon that I am:
Here's Eric- "Bernie boys and girls need to take care to consider what they are being promised. Free education for all, for example.
I went to college for free in CA. I also could rent a room here for under $50 a month. And I did. The big food price and gas price inflation were only beginning. Now to rent an apartment here costs $3000 a month and a house costs at least a million dollars.
We have the Affordable Care Act, which still needs to be made more affordable. Bernie wants single payer, and he also wants free education for all, and says the rich will pay for it. That way he gets 85% of the youth vote.
But I suspect we are also going to need a compromise Affordable Education Act, and an Affordable Housing Act then too. Because there's not an unlimited supply of rich people forever to pay the sky high housing prices that teachers have to pay to live where I used to get college for free.
Now, what happens to the bern, when Bernie has to compromise in order to get any of these things? Will you turn on him like you turned on Obama, and not vote in the midterm election of 2018, thus killing off any hope for anything for another 8 or 16 years?
Bernie says the bern will rally the people to vote and then make congress act. He will probably still have a Republican congress, unlike Obama in 2009; but it's also true that Obama turned over health care to the congress and didn't rally the people to push harder for a more affordable affordable care act, with a public option and so on.
So, Bernie will bern and push for what he wants. But the chances are he will eventually compromise to get something rather than nothing, if he can get anything at all. Then will the "bernie-bots" here call him a neo-liberal, and say Republicans are better than he is? Remember Bernie wants single payer? But he said quite forcefully that he helped write the Affordable Care Act. He compromised to get his veterans health bill passed too. Yes, he will compromise to get things done. What will you guys do THEN? Will you call him untrustworthy? Will you say that you might as well have voted for Hillary? Yes, you probably will.
I'm all for feeling the bern. He'll have my vote, if I have a vote. Let's also make sure not to get berned by our own ignorance, and bern our own house down."
And there's these word's from one, I'll call "PW", in response to The Bern's supporter's over Gloria Steinem's words over his young female supporters. I thought this was a pretty damn good response, myself:
Pretty poor choice of words, admittedly. Not an excuse, but Bill Maher's show is a constant romp of sarcasm and sometimes guests get caught up in it and say something they regard later. Steinem has done so much in her lifetime; frankly, I find it odd the willingness of so many to throw her under the bus with a single mistake - pretty dainty skin.
Pretty poor choice of words, admittedly. Not an excuse, but Bill Maher's show is a constant romp of sarcasm and sometimes guests get caught up in it and say something they regard later. Steinem has done so much in her lifetime; frankly, I find it odd the willingness of so many to throw her under the bus with a single mistake - pretty dainty skin.
I can also emphasis with the frustrations a lot of us older Progressives are having with younger Progressives' locking onto Sanders much like they did in '08 with Obama. Again, it seems like its all visionary with little regard to how to make it actually happen. It seems we're headed to exactly the same frustration and soon abandonment of President Sanders that we got with President Obama when progress on the Progressive agenda (e.g., no single payer or public option) but I believe it will be much worse because the GOP will not be awe of Sanders for the first couple years and will continue to control the Congress, and the promises Sanders is making eclipse even those that Obama promised - Bernie has a lot farther to fall from grace with his supporters.
At the risk of digging myself a little deeper into inter-generational friction, it's this mostly-unstated assumption that President Sanders will make a real difference, i.e., Progressive progress, by bringing "people power" to Washington. I think this is what grates on older generations, particularly Boomers who were actually involved in the 1960s movements. They marched, they fled to Canada, they protested, they got jailed, they got beat up, some even gave their lives. It took years for Civil Rights (more a Silents endeavor), stopping the war, equality for women, getting the environment movement started, and much is left to do.
It seems the younger Progressive believe if they can only get a new savior in the WH, one who is just more to the Left that Obama, and everything will just fall into place - Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and the Freedom Caucus will either behave or be shown the door. Push the younger Progressive on the unlikelihood of that and most will just tell you that your just missing the "Bern." Those few that can get beyond their sanctimonious "discovery" of Progressivism, provide some version of people power but are pretty vague about what that is - they give you that look of pity of not understanding the latest social networking device or trend.
I walk away with the sense that they are assuming that unrelenting shxtstorms of blogs, posts, tweets, videos, podcasts, even polls are going to make it really happen. Maybe President Bernie will provide the perfect People Power App so you can dial it up just like Uber or AirBnb - instantaneous protest with instantaneous political movement.
I don't think anyone actually involved in the movements of the 1960s believes that. I think that they would find it humorous except its not only pitiful, it is dangerous to the Progressive agenda. I think that is what is frustrating enough to Steinem to make her misspeak.
Not that long ago, the big stink about Millies was their assumption in the workforce that they just needed to show up in the morning for their first day and expected to be promoted that afternoon - that's basically what their Boomer parents raised them to expect. The Great Recession has disabuse any Millie that may have actually had that particularly outlook. But perhaps that sense of deserving without a lot of effort has transferred itself to the political world?
Then there are the Boomers that have jump on the Bernie bandwagon; maybe those, particularly the younger ones, that didn't get the chance to be part of something in the '60s? Maybe even a few Xers who want to be part of some 'revolution' other than slam dancing and the Beastie Boys. Last chance?
For me at this point in time, nothing is "set in stone" as they say (whoever the fuck "they" is), but I tend to see Bernie Sanders as an "Ideal World Candidate". If we lived in an ideal world, then maybe Bernie would be the man! As for myself? I live in the REAL world, so that's where I'm at, and that's where I shall remain
