And we never have. We don't want to change what was promised to us. We don't want to lose our belief in having more than we need. We still want to have it all. That's the way we are. Basically, unconscionable. A little like children—fearful, envious, dreamy, and trip-wiry angered.
I'm an old man, a little like you, so I wanted to believe one last time in the pursuit of doing the right thing. And that's why I sent some cash your way. That was in the early moments of your campaign's illusory days. We're both veterans of the halcyon 60s and carry the baggage of those illusions. That also means we have a large capacity to forget to remember. We forgot big time that the last visionary in the Oval Office got killed before he could begin to realize his visions. Barack and Hillary got that message bold-faced. Your stumble regarding the subway "token" was a symbol of that dreamy forgetfulness.
Oh, about those youth brigades that have stuffed your rallies but not the ballot slots, you might recall the "power" of Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman. You might want to do some research among your vocalizing dreamers: Ask them which among the various toys they rely on to distract them from the dreariness of their various plights they would be willing to sacrifice for the sake of some of the specifics in your proposed revolution. Plus ca change, plus etc. etc. I have conversations with several young people ages 25-35, and at bottom they are as pragmatic and as cynical as most of us. What they like, as we did in the 60s, is the thrill of the spirit of revolution, not the specifics. That's why they don't bother with the specifics of your policies.
By the way, that same exalting is behind Mr. Trump's success (have you noticed that since he's donned a more acceptable demeanor the info media granted him that Mr honorific?). The biggest difference between Mr. Trump and you is that he understands the hoi polloi; he's been exploiting them his entire career. You want them to rise to the level of your expectations. Even if they wanted to, I don't think they would understand the concept, because it's not an immediate phenomenon. They seem not to have rising expectations. They prefer immediate phenomena.
So here we are. Two old guys contemplating the inevitable. Most likely, you and I will slide back into the routines that consume the time of our days. I will continue to try to understand why my fellow citizens can't see and hear what's right in front of them, and I suspect that's how you'll feel working the vineyards of DC. You mustered a valiant effort. In fact, I marvel at your energy over these recent weeks. I know I could never have done that.
And I thank you for doing what you did. Your greatest contribution to the country was to awaken all of us to how trifling we have become, how little concern we have for the institutions that made us what we once were and how blindly most of us move in our meandering towards a future that has so little actual promise.
Some of us might even look back and say, "Yes, that was a brief period of responsibility...and we squandered it."
I'm an old man, a little like you, so I wanted to believe one last time in the pursuit of doing the right thing. And that's why I sent some cash your way. That was in the early moments of your campaign's illusory days. We're both veterans of the halcyon 60s and carry the baggage of those illusions. That also means we have a large capacity to forget to remember. We forgot big time that the last visionary in the Oval Office got killed before he could begin to realize his visions. Barack and Hillary got that message bold-faced. Your stumble regarding the subway "token" was a symbol of that dreamy forgetfulness.
Oh, about those youth brigades that have stuffed your rallies but not the ballot slots, you might recall the "power" of Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman. You might want to do some research among your vocalizing dreamers: Ask them which among the various toys they rely on to distract them from the dreariness of their various plights they would be willing to sacrifice for the sake of some of the specifics in your proposed revolution. Plus ca change, plus etc. etc. I have conversations with several young people ages 25-35, and at bottom they are as pragmatic and as cynical as most of us. What they like, as we did in the 60s, is the thrill of the spirit of revolution, not the specifics. That's why they don't bother with the specifics of your policies.
By the way, that same exalting is behind Mr. Trump's success (have you noticed that since he's donned a more acceptable demeanor the info media granted him that Mr honorific?). The biggest difference between Mr. Trump and you is that he understands the hoi polloi; he's been exploiting them his entire career. You want them to rise to the level of your expectations. Even if they wanted to, I don't think they would understand the concept, because it's not an immediate phenomenon. They seem not to have rising expectations. They prefer immediate phenomena.
So here we are. Two old guys contemplating the inevitable. Most likely, you and I will slide back into the routines that consume the time of our days. I will continue to try to understand why my fellow citizens can't see and hear what's right in front of them, and I suspect that's how you'll feel working the vineyards of DC. You mustered a valiant effort. In fact, I marvel at your energy over these recent weeks. I know I could never have done that.
And I thank you for doing what you did. Your greatest contribution to the country was to awaken all of us to how trifling we have become, how little concern we have for the institutions that made us what we once were and how blindly most of us move in our meandering towards a future that has so little actual promise.
Some of us might even look back and say, "Yes, that was a brief period of responsibility...and we squandered it."
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