What the Media Would Like Us to Believe

In a Politicususa article, the author cautions Sanders' supporters that Obama has said and history shows that incrementalism is the only way in which major changes take place.

Obama (sorry, I have quit calling him President Obama due to an overwhelming lack of respect for what he has done/not done in regard to whom he portrayed himself to be and don't get me started on his militarism) first gives voice to many of the current problems that Sanders has been addressing. He then completes the interview with the following:

We’ve got to also recognize that, in a democracy like this, it’s not going to happen overnight. We have to make incremental changes where we can, and everyone once in a while you’ll get a breakthrough and make the kind of big changes that are necessary. That consensus building is important because that’s historically how change has happened in America.

The author of this piece--as per current practice of not labeling opinion as Opinion--concludes that all progressive changes have come about by taking baby steps, including the Civil Rights movement and the minimum wage law (He is very wrong about that last, but more one that later.). There are a number of points here that need to be addressed.

Obama refers to "a democracy like this" which indicates that our system is not the standard breed of democracy but one that has been diluted or in essence is something else. Okay, that may be construed as picky, but then again there may be a more subtle message there. Given the history of the last 40 years, it is something to think about.

Next Obama states (and the author concurs) "it's not going to happen overnight." However, there are many, many instances when progressive change has happened in such short periods of time to in effect be "overnight." One example would be the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 to regulate the railroad industry which had become a monopoly. Around the mid-1870s, the public began to demand changes made in the discriminatory pricing practices of the railroads which states tried to address, but the Supreme Court intervened due to the interstate nature of the business. Eventually, through public pressure, the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 was passed and the Interstate Commerce Commission was created.

The act was passed in response to rising public concern with the growing power and wealth of corporations, particularly railroads, during the late nineteenth century. Source

This was a progressive change brought about by public demands. Yes, it took about 12 years to accomplish, but it is no where close to the decades that the author of the Politicususa piece indicates are needed for progressive changes to be made.

Another example is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act which was a progressive movement to address the development of monopolies. The invention of the trust occurred in 1882.

By 1888 public discontent was so strong that both political parties put anti-trust planks into their Presidential platforms. Legislative action was a foregone conclusion. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed by a 51 - 1 vote in the Senate on 8 April 1890 and by a unanimous vote of 242 - 0 by the House of Representatives on 20 June 1890. The bill was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on 2 July 1890. Source

Two years between the time that voters made their displeasure known until a law was passed to address it. Not overnight, but close enough in political years. To get closer to overnight, we only need to take a look at Wilson's and FDR's progressive agendas.

First take a look at the background and see if you can see ghosts from the past:

The Progressive movement was a turn-of-the-century political movement interested in furthering social and political reform, curbing political corruption caused by political machines, and limiting the political influence of large corporations. Although many Progressives saw U.S. power in a foreign arena as an opportunity to enact the Progressive domestic agenda overseas, and to improve foreign societies, others were concerned about the adverse effects of U.S. interventions and colonialism Source [emphasis added].

[Note: The article that the above quote come from is worth a read. It is short, but you may spend extra time wrapping your mind around the term "Republican Progressive." = ) ]

The Progressive Era lasted roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s and was a prelude to the New Deal of Roosevelt. So there isn't too much confusion, the Progressives of that era may not be readily recognized as such by today's progressive standard as they favored the entry into World War I and restrictions on immigration among other things. Prohibition was also a progressive action.

Woodrow Wilson, elected in 1912, pushed through a number of progressive laws:

When Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected President with a Democratic Congress in 1912 he implemented a series of Progressive policies in economics. In 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified, and a small income tax was imposed on high incomes. The Democrats lowered tariffs with the Underwood Tariff in 1913, though its effects were overwhelmed by the changes in trade caused by the World War that broke out in 1914. Wilson proved especially effective in mobilizing public opinion behind tariff changes by denouncing corporate lobbyists, addressing Congress in person in highly dramatic fashion, and staging an elaborate ceremony when he signed the bill into law.[82] Wilson helped end the long battles over the trusts with the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. He managed to convince lawmakers on the issues of money and banking by the creation in 1913 of the Federal Reserve System, a complex business-government partnership that to this day dominates the financial world.

That is an awful lot of progress, including antitrust laws, state and national income taxes (16th Amendment), increased business regulation, direct election of U.S. senators (17th Amendment), and the creation of the Federal Reserve System in a very short time. Wilson, with the backing of the populace, had the will to make changes to the status quo.

Without the earlier progressivism, the New Deal may not have come into being. However,

There is general agreement that that the Era was over by 1932, especially since a majority of the remaining Progressives opposed the New Deal. Source

But that is not the concern of this essay. The thesis is that change does not need to take extensive amounts of time when there is a will for change. The Great Depression began in 1929. FDR took office in 1933. In his first 100 days, after four years of Herbert Hoover's "be patient" rhetoric, FDR accomplished the following and more.

  • March 10, 1933: The Economy Act of 1933. Roosevelt, in sending this act to Congress, warned that if it did not pass, the country faced a billion dollar deficit. The act balanced the federal budget by cutting the salaries of government employees and cutting pensions to veterans by as much as 15 percent. It intended to reassure the deficit hawks that the new president was fiscally conservative. Although the act was heavily protested by left-leaning members of congress, it passed by an overwhelming margin.
  • March 31, 1933: The Civilian Conservation Corps Reforestation Relief Act (ch. 17, 48 Stat. 22) established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as a means to combat unemployment and poverty.
  • May 12, 1933: The Agricultural Adjustment Act (ch. 25, 48 Stat. 31) was part of a plan developed by Roosevelt's Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace, and was designed to protect American farmers from the uncertainties of the depression through subsidies and production controls. The act laid the frame for long-term government control in the planning of the agricultural sector. In 1936 the act was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court because it taxed one group to pay for another. [Note: this Act was re-worded and put back into effect shortly after.]
  • May 12, 1933: The Federal Emergency Relief Act (ch. 30, 48 Stat. 55) established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) which develop public works projects to give work to the unemployed.
  • May 18, 1933: The Tennessee Valley Authority Act (ch. 32, 48 Stat. 58) created the Tennessee Valley Authority to relieve the Tennessee Valley by a series of public works projects.
  • June 5, 1933: The Securities Act of 1933 (ch. 38, 48 Stat. 74) established the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) as a way for the government to prevent a repeat of the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
  • June 12, 1933: The Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 (ch. 89, 48 Stat. 162) was a follow up to the Glass–Steagall Act of 1932. Both acts sought to make banking safer and less prone to speculation. The 1933 act, however, established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Source

One hundred days may not be overnight but close enough when others are thinking in terms of decades. There were even more changes in the next session and over the years. But, some will say, FDR had Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate. That is true; however, FDR didn't fully rely on politicians to do what was needed. He formed a coalition that could and would serve the needs of the many, including social security, unemployment insurance and a minimum wage.

"Franklin D. Roosevelt forged a coalition that included banking and oil industries, the Democratic state party organizations, city machines, labor unions, blue collar workers, minorities (racial, ethnic and religious), farmers, white Southerners, people on relief, and intellectuals." Source

This is not unlike what Sanders has been calling for...everyone coming together to address the problems we face. Just "reaching across the aisle" will not produce the needed results, and, in fact, makes things worse, but that is the only solution that HRC can see. While she already has strings tied to four of the eleven constituencies, they are the four that do not have the interests of the 99% or a survivable earth at the center of their agenda.

Sanders nor most of the rest of us are looking for overnight changes, but the facts are that change does not need to take the decades that incrementalism would require. There are plenty of examples of when there is a consensus of the people and the will of the elected to get things done, those things will get done.

In the Politicususa article, Obama also states:

It’s important for us to not oversimplify how we’re going to bring about the kind of change we need.

What is incrementalism if it is not oversimplification? For those who cannot see the big picture, taking only one step at a time is all their scoped vision allows, but it not going to work when we need to take leaps and bounds on many issues. The things that respond best to incrementalism will happen in their own good time. Meanwhile, there are things that cannot wait and do not require us to do so.

The short version: Do not listen to the media, candidates and politicians who tell you that it cannot be done.

Now, let's quit hoping for change and go out and make those changes happen.

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Comments

Thank you, WindDancer13.

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WindDancer13's picture

Thank you, Rusty1776.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

earthling1's picture

Sheesh. How much more incremental do they want?

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

WindDancer13's picture

let him know that we expect a better time frame than that. Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

For the rest of them, I hope they enjoy their retirement. Golf is played incrementally, isn't it?

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Thumb's picture

"What do we want?"

"Incremental change!"

"When do we want it?"

"No hurry."

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"Polls don't tell us how well a candidate is doing; Polls tell us how well the media is doing." ~ Me

featheredsprite's picture

Love it! Smile

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Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.

WindDancer13's picture

Standing by for incremental change.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Pricknick's picture

and nothing to do. Incrementalism.
That is now the battle cry of those who believe that if we are just patient, things will work out.
Mother nature has learned well. She's pissed now.
We, the so-called human race, have and will fail miserably at the pace we're on.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

WindDancer13's picture

Mother Nature will give us just one more chance to get it right. Unless that flood that the Xtian god sent was the last chance.

I have never referred to myself as a patient person except in joking. = )

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

OLinda's picture

Would you give a link to The Intercept article you are talking about?

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WindDancer13's picture

Here it is: Obama Makes The One Argument That Every Young Bernie Sanders Supporter Needs To Hear

Annoying title, isn't it?

I have also updated the essay wit the link.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

OLinda's picture

It is not The Intercept. It didn't sound like the type of piece anyone at The Intercept would do which is what prompted me to look for it, and then ask. A correction to that would be helpful as well.

Very nice essay! Very well done. Thank you.

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I hope the author corrects the repeated referral of this being an Intercept article in the body of the diary. Thank you.

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WindDancer13's picture

Thanks for pointing that out. I have corrected it. Maybe I should close a few of the dozens of browser tabs I have open. = )

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

lotlizard's picture

The question was about the link to the article at The Intercept?

https://theintercept.com/search/?s=obama

https://theintercept.com/search/?s=bernie
https://theintercept.com/search/?s=sanders

https://theintercept.com/search/?s=speech

https://theintercept.com/search/?s=incremental

Even though the results list for each of these searches is interesting and instructive, none seems to contain the article you’re discussing. So I haven’t been able to find it either.

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OLinda's picture

I believe WindDancer just mistakenly attributed the article to The Intercept. The essay is about the article at the link he provided.

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lotlizard's picture

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When the housing market crashed and the banks were on the verge of collapse, I distinctly remember the president and congressional leadership enacting major legislation within a matter of days. Apparently incrementalism is fine for the peasants, but immediate action must be taken when it comes to saving the bankers. And even with that quick action, homeowners still got completely screwed. The same is true after 9-11 when sweeping, transformative legislation that undermined the Bill of Rights and permanently institutionalized the surveillance and national security state was almost immediately put into place with little to no debate. The people in charge only act with haste when they feel like their own interests, and the interests of the 1% that own them, are at risk, otherwise they're happy to feed us incrementalist nonsense and perform the kabuki that convinces people to settle for less. Obama doesn't get to talk about how we have to be patient, especially after espousing the "fierce urgency of now" in his campaign. failing to effectively utilize the bully pulpit, taking the absolute wrong position on any number of issues including TPP, and showing that he was completely incompetent at even managing a Democratic supermajority (among many other things). I'm absolutely sick of people making excuses for him.

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lotlizard's picture

or weeks at most — however long it takes to call a meeting of their cronies at the New York Fed.

“Give us what we want or we’ll crash the stock market, the banking system will freeze up, and your political future will be toast.”

Main Street? Main Street has no leverage, outside of (1) voting for the candidates they don’t want, and (2) perhaps better, getting out there in the streets — taking to heart the words of Mario Savio:

There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it — that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!

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WindDancer13's picture

of the peasants living on the land where the change of seasons is slow and the crops come in at an incremental pace. They are going to be hugely surprised that we will actually have to go online to buy our pitchforks.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Is incrementally ???

H'ok Whatevah

Btw the incrementalists are like big Pharma

Never interested in a cure

But happy to keep treating some of the symptoms.

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Orwell was an optimist

WindDancer13's picture

Never interested in a cure

But happy to keep treating some of the symptoms.

About 2/3 of gun deaths each year are from suicides. Sanders wants to provide mental health care and income equality. HRC wants to ummm uh well complain about guns while running for office, but only in 2016.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

RDSVermont's picture

you can believe in"

Fuck BHO!
Fuck HRC!
Fuck the DNC!
Fuck the MSM!
Fuck __________! (Your choice)

Happy Friday the 13th! LOL

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Our village and town are so small that we don't have a village idiot or a town drunk. Nope, we all take turns.

Ken in MN's picture

Fuck Art, Let's Rock!

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMUw9fk1Z4k]

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I want my two dollars!

RDSVermont's picture

Have you or YPWF ever been sued for whiplash? LOL

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Our village and town are so small that we don't have a village idiot or a town drunk. Nope, we all take turns.

WindDancer13's picture

I do not even want to think about what an incremental fuck would be like. Would that be come back in 20 years for your orgasm?

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

RDSVermont's picture

To answer your question, if you have a clintonoris, then come back twenty years later for your reward. Ouch!

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Our village and town are so small that we don't have a village idiot or a town drunk. Nope, we all take turns.

WindDancer13's picture

In more than one way. = )

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

movie buff's picture

Or at least, it shouldn't be. The point should be that there is tremendous value in advocating for radical change. Because, "in a democracy like this" (Obama's own words) if you push for radical change you're likely to get something less radical, more incremental. If you push for incremental change, you're likely to get...NOTHING. Which is not lost on the incrementalists themselves, those brave defenders of the great Status Quo.

So I would argue that there is value in incremental change...as an end result. Just no value whatsoever in advocating for it.

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"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." --Noam Chomsky

WindDancer13's picture

no change at all in which case we could revert, incrementally, to the days in which there were no safeguards from the robber barons...oh, wait...

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Ken in MN's picture

...we NEVER hear about the value of incremental change when it comes to US Foreign Policy. It's always, "Bomb the shit out of them NOW! We'll figure out the rest later..."

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I want my two dollars!

WindDancer13's picture

that it is more "efficient" to bomb everyone than to incrementally starve the civilians to death via sanctions. Meanwhile, it is a win-win for the MIC. They can pay for weapons by starving US citizens to death, so no bombing needed on home soil to get rid of those pesky peasants.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Lookout's picture

...doesn't have an incremental foreign policy. He announced troop increases as he received the Nobel peace prize. And he moved quickly to pass a stimulus bill which largely provided tax cuts to rich folks. What a disappointment.

Hellery will be more of the same with a more dangerous foreign policy.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

WindDancer13's picture

1984, the Sequel? I am pretty sure that getting a Peace prize while bombing the hell out of people is not in the original.

I think HRC will be worse, much worse. Remember Obama had to be talked into Libya, and she did the talking.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Christine.MI's picture

Key word: Will.

We Progressives have got it, Bernie's got it, now we just have to get it together to get some sh*t done. First, we gotta get out there and vote and get the incrementalist status-quo'ers outta there!

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WindDancer13's picture

Money can buy it as we have seen it being paid for by special interests. What we re looking for is people with integrity AND will. We've got one for sure in Sanders, but we need oh so many more. The "get it together" part of you first sentence is very important because there are tons of progressive groups around that need to come together so we can work on the underlying problems as well as the individual problems.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

I'd end up using some VERY offensive language when talking about that sell-out loser LIAR Obama. While he deserves such opprobrium, there is no need to inflict readers here with my vituperation. I think everyone here is intelligent enough to have an idea of what I'd say.

edited spelling error in title

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

TheOtherMaven's picture

when you could have been good or even great.

I remember all the "Jackie Robinson" talk when Obama was first elected. Well, we didn't get a Jackie Robinson - we got a journeyman fielder with a wimpy bat. (Nothing wrong with that, as such, if those are your limits - they fill out the rosters of both Leagues. But when you really need a star, it's not nearly good enough.)

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

is that he COULD have left a legacy that would really be a legacy of change, but instead he opted for the easy power play, which in the end will merely discredit him even more. Such a fucking waste.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

He wanted as nice a LIEbury as Reagan and Dubya got!

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

WindDancer13's picture

If he does get a library, he can fill it with copies of HRC's Hard Choices to remind him that he didn't make any.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

WindDancer13's picture

But why bother when you can get awards (like the Peace prize) without deserving it? Obstruction like vast right-wing conspiracy can only be used as an excuse for only so long and does not cover the many, many things that were done in complete contradiction of the promises made.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

WindDancer13's picture

If some changes are not made soon--and Obama did nothing or worse to improve that situation--then speaking freely may only be allowed for the moneyed classes. He must have a very different dictionary than many of us use becasue "transparent" seems to mean something else to him. And that is only the beginning of the many issues I have with him.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

ZimInSeattle's picture

country we ramped up production of weapons for WWII and putting a man on the moon in 10 years time are good examples. When there is a collective will, legislation is the least of obstacles to overcome. This is the kind of rapid change we need to combat climate change. Leave all the remaining fossil fuels in the ground and put all the out of work coal and oil workers into building wind turbines and solar panels.

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"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020

WindDancer13's picture

example in there but couldn't quite get it to fit. = ) Yes, climate change is not one of those things that can wait. I think I read yesterday that Germany is now on 90% renewable energy. Yay for them; Boo on us.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

Which happened b/c a bunch of people in Pittsburgh died from terrible air quality.

The "incrementalism" talking point is a condescending lie.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

WindDancer13's picture

Just like any advertising, if they tell us that lie often enough, we are expected to buy it. Got your wallet out yet?

It is almost funny that many of the terrible infrastructure and air problems were actually a big part of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Looks like they all skimmed over that part. (I don't think it is only tea-party people who ascribe to her economic philosophies.)

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Big Al's picture

every city. Then work on the school boards, progressives up and down. Then the city councils, state Congress and finally the national Congress. If the world is still habitable by that time, we can then seek single payer and a higher minimum wage. If people would just vote the right way all would be great.

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earthling1's picture

Look 'em up. If they're on your ballot, VOTE FOR THEM!!!!!
MY granddaughter is voting against incumbent Democrats and for Sanders candidates.
I, personally will be voting against Cantwell and Murray from this day forward.
And many many others.
Useless? Perhaps.
But I can still proudly claim " I'm from the home of the brave".

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Big Al's picture

It's nothing against the good people here on C99, just a decision I made a number of years ago. Sorry, but good luck. Btw, I will strongly advise my 11 year old granddaughter to not vote for the Democratic party either when she becomes eligible to vote. The democratic party is part of the oligarchy, a ruling class apparatus, nothing more.

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WindDancer13's picture

I know it is a bit radical, but can't we fast-track incrementalism while we can still breathe the air?

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

never forget how angry I got on an Occupy phone call once, when a Boomer rhapsodized on how, in her old age, she'd figured out that change takes time.

I almost yelled at her, WE DON'T HAVE TIME! THIS IS OUR LIVES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Please don't spew hatred at Baby Boomers, or lump any age group into a cliche. That's ageism and prejudice. I'm a boomer and have been a proud Bernie supporter since the first debate.

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WindDancer13's picture

laid on Baby Boomers. About as tired as I am of hearing that it is only young people voting for Sanders. What were all these progressive youngsters doing BEFORE Sanders showed up and opened the windows?

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

WindDancer13's picture

and don't need to be yelled at. How often have you changed your mind about something becasue someone yelled at you?

People may want to remember that most older people have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews that they may be interested in seeing survive.

If someone does not see the value in efforts to combat climate change, then switch the topic to "Does anyone you care about suffer from breathing problems such as asthma?" Then the conversation can be lead into the causes of those problems. Eradicating those causes are part of of the climate change platform.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

French Revolution, American Revolution, Russian Revolution, Hillary's Ghadafi overthrow and the Arab Spring, or ISIS, Bush's Iraq War, Hiroshima. Need I go on? This is an indication of just how brilliant our president really is, or how corrupt.

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WindDancer13's picture

It is funny (kind of) how US Americans tend to revere intelligence and continually fall for the idea that well, if people are smart they must also be good of heart. Look at how often HRC is described as smart. In fact, that is something that Obama says about her over and over (like he cannot think of anything else).

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

the working class has been losing too much ground and baby steps certainly don't help enough to make up the difference. we need bolder, bigger policies.

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WindDancer13's picture

the last 40 years, minimum wage would be between $22-26/hr. So actually I do not think we have even been getting incrementalism, but something much more deceiving.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

shaharazade's picture

It's just a double speak word that the complicit weasels in DC use to convince people that there anti-democratic take over is somehow the way forward. It's a kabuki term they stick on their dirty deals like 'reform' or modernization. They lie, it's going backwards at a breakneck speed. When ever they start talking victories for compromise, reforming, or the way forward you just know they are going to screw everybody and call it Yankee Doodle Dandy. In order to believe in incrementalism you need first know how to practice double think. Like patriotic torturer's or humanitarian interventions it's overt bullshit.

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WindDancer13's picture

It is an illusion...brought to us by the same advertisers that are destroying the economy and the world and bought by us becasue it takes effort to fight when we could just sit in front of the television/computers and accept the soap operas served up by the "news."

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass