After
watching prerecorded programs to avoid the Democratic Convention, quite late last night my
wife switched to MSNBC in time to catch Michelle Obama’s speech and Bernie’s
closing. After the closing, some of the
Bernie supporters were interviewed, and there was a theme in common: they were
young and they were idealist.
It didn’t
surprise me that Bernie’s young people all said they couldn’t vote for
Hillary.
We have all
been there. The world seemed so black
and white and answers seemed so obvious when we were young adult.
At that age the world is about you - it's for you. You are in awe of how misguided older adults
behave and how obtuse your parents are – and you are not going to be like them
now that you’re are grown.
Young people haven’t
yet realized that the world is not black and white but shades of grey. They haven’t been knocked back by adult
responsibilities.
It is only
after you find out that the thrill of relationships is short lived, that babies
cry through the night, that baby shit is stinky mustard yellow, that money
is required for housing, food, car payments, insurance, medical bills, clothing,
and that that money doesn’t come from mom and dad - that you have to earn
it. It is only after you have been knocked back a
few times that you have made your bones as an adult.
Don’t get me
wrong; I am not decrying young adults. The
idealism of young has brought about great changes in society. The generation of the sixties with drug, sex
and rock and roll brought about positive social change, as did the young people
that demonstrated and bled during the integration of the south. If it weren’t for the idealism of youth,
which makes them easily manipulated, there would be no cannon fodder for the
military.
So Bernie’s
young people cried in the audience and they can’t bring themselves to vote for
Hillary. They don’t understand yet that the
world does not rotate just for them, that what they want does not drive the universe. They can't see past their own egotism that a no vote for Hilary is an own-goal
for Donald Trump.
That you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.
Not bad for seventy year old rock band musicians.
the Ol'Buzzard
It has struck me very forcefully this election year how both the Republicans and Democrats have large contingents of radicalized members making a fuss and causing a ruckus against "the old guard." Although these members are on opposite ends of the political spectrum from each other, they share one characteristic -- they're people who have not really participated in politics much before and so are clueless about how that world really works. They're all running on pure emotion and wishful thinking.
ReplyDeleteNeither party has listened to the people for a long time, when someone comes along that is bucking the system people want to get involved. Then they get disappointed when they realize that what they are going to get is more of THE SAME OLD SHIT!!!
ReplyDeletearghghghghghghghghghghgh
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