In the 60's we talked about "heightening the contradictions," that if things got so bad in America, that they would have to take a turn for the better, that people would wake up from their Cold War stuper and slap themselves upside the head, saying "I coulda had a revolution!"
Then we little radicals would run in and claim our rightful places in the new government, after the old one crumbled from it's own weight, and would be hailed as conquering heroes, while still being under thirty.
Remember "Never trust anyone over thirty"? Now we are all over thirty, way over and we can look back on that time with a little it of reality and historical perspective
As a Bernie Sanders delegate who proudly case my vote for the most progressive, the only true progressive in the running this year, at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, I am living in a kind of deja vu. Shades of the 60's and Eugene McCarthy (although i was not "clean for Gene" back then, because I thought that was a rather condescending and demeaning phrase, assuming all young people were dirty and had to be cleaned up before they could go on the stump). We did not get the progressive candidate of our choice, but we did get a lot accomplished. Instead of taking credit for a job well done, instead of listening to Bernie Sanders when he urges us to vote for Hillary, when he even nominated her, some of his delegates are pushing Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, who doesn't have a chance. Or worse, openly rooting for a Trump victory, because that will pave the way for a truly progressive president to emerge and win, next time.
Now, before you jump all over me and say I sold out, then or now, look at the parallels. In 1968, we had a choice between Richard "I am not a crook" Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey had been a civil rights leader in his day. But these days he was looking just liberal, maybe a warmonger, certainly the establishment. Tricky Dick was a liar and a thief and sleazeball paranoiac, but we decided in our youthful wisdom that they were just the same, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
We marched in rallies when Humphrey came to town and chanted "Dump the Hump!" We didn't vote. (To be fair to my young self, I couldn't vote, as the voting age was 21 and I had just turned 20 that year). We got Nixon and the rest, as they say, is History. Ok, it would have been history one way or the other. But my point is we thought let them vote for Nixon; things will surely change. I bet some people even said what some Bernie Sanders supporters now say, If Nixon (Trump) is elected, we'll be setting the stage for a really progressive president next time." Fast forward past Cambodia, Kent State, Watergate, impeachment, resignation. Gerald Ford. 1975. The Vietnam War finally ends.
Then we do get Jimmy Carter, the earnest peanut farmer, one of the best I think, but weak as a president and vulnerable to an October surprise, paving the way to Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush. Finally Clinton, not the most progressive, but a Democrat; then George W. Bush, warmonger extreme and village idiot. Which brings us to Obama. And now, you say Trump will lead to a truly progressive era. The best we've been able to do is fight like crazy to clean up the mess left behind.
Been there, tried that. Bernie Sanders himself, who was also there and so is a part of living history some of his own supporters who now spout off on Facebook, should pay attention to. Am i in love with Hillary Clinton? I am not. Is she the lesser of two evils? She may well be. But do you really want to take a chance with racism, mysogeny, anti-immigration policies, anti-labor, and all that goes with Trump's vision of "Making America great again," as a social experiment you hope will turn out ok in the end.
If you won't listen to Bernie, pick up a damn book. Go on the History Channel. Google the last nearly fifty years and tell yourself how great it is to live in this post-Nixon time, when all is peace and love. Because, wait for it, the contradictions were heightened.
Magical thinking my friends. Accept reality, accept the very real victories we have earned with more than 1800 Bernie Sanders delegates in Philadelphia, with the most progressive and forward -looking platform the democratic Party has had in years, if ever, with Hillary invoking Bernie's name and policies. Don't see it as co-optation; see it as a chance. Don't squander it. That is the way to a truly progressive future, maybe even in your lifetimes.
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