My Dad was a dreamer.
Head-in-the-clouds, pie-in-the-sky. My Grandmother used to laugh and tell us that if her son fell into a bucket of shit, he would find a diamond ring. He was optimistic, fortunate. I have often referred to this wonderful man as “consciously naïve”—it’s not that he lacked the intelligence or perspective to see things “as they are,” it’s that he preferred to perceive things as they could (should) be. A modern day Don Quixote.
My Mom is a pragmatist.
She has a straightforward, matter-of-fact approach, and rarely allows emotion distract her when dealing with critical issues. She taught me about budgets, goals, and common decency. You don’t make excuses to my mother. You get the job done or hang your head in shame. She does not suffer fools, gladly or otherwise.
I am a varietal blend of these two. In many ways I embody the spirit of my Father and in others I live the credos of my Mom. I am able to see both sides of the coin because of them and therefore can rarely be swayed from my opinions or intentions once they are set.
And I have set a very serious intention this election season: to never see Donald Trump in control of my country.
One of my Dad’s favorite movies was It’s a Wonderful Life. Even though he was able to travel the globe and achieve the worldly success George Bailey only dreamed about, I think my father very much related to the character’s morals and code of conduct. So when Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy for President of the United States, I was on board. Here was a real-world George Bailey, ready to stand up to all the Mr. Potters who have taken control of the narrative in our country with their money and greed!
Donald Trump fits this bill so exquisitely; selfish, childish and mean, he is so unaware of his own privilege that he literally looks down his nose at EVERYONE who is unable to attain his (mostly inherited) level of wealth. In the film, the crux of the conflict between Mr. Potter and George is that Mr. Potter believes that giving the middle class a break will result in “a discontented, lazy rabble.”
Donald Trump has said, “If you’re interested in balancing work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable.”
But Americans work longer hours for lower wages, take less vacations and retire later than the citizens of any other developed country on earth. Do you supposed the burnout and discouragement the middle class is feeling right now might best be solved by “whistling while we work”? Donald Trump says “having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” and has no plans to raise it. Do you want to know who having a low minimum wage is great for? Corporations and businesspeople like Trump that can increase their wealth on the backs of men and women living in poverty.
Is this the wonderful life we dreamed of as Americans?
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I am a dreamer, like my Dad. And my question is this: when did having high-minded ideals and ambitions for a strong and thriving middle class become a “pie-in-the-sky” proposition in this country? With Donald Trump doing well in the polls, I have to ask: when did the paradigm shift happen that allowed so many people to start rooting for Mr. Potter instead of George Bailey?
Watching the Democratic National Convention and listening to my fellow Democrats “boo” Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, et al, I see how Trump is infecting us with his boorish, bullying behavior.
My Mother would tell you that “booing” is not how an adult expresses dissent. If given the opportunity, I would not even “boo” Donald Trump because I am not a kid and this is not a game.
We need to come in off of the playground and behave the way we ask our children to behave towards each other—with respect. I think this is a small part of the sort of behavior Michelle Obama addressed in her speech when she said “if they go low, we go high.” Adults jeering other adults makes me feel that even though Trump has not yet won the election, he is definitely winning the cultural war.
I am a pragmatist, like my Mom.
I am not going to make excuses or let emotion distract me. I understand that we have an inadequate, flawed political structure in place, but it will not be broken down overnight or in the course of one election.
That political structure, in part, helped Hillary Clinton to secure the Democratic nomination over Bernie Sanders (ALSO: the math). And as a pragmatic dreamer, I am able to see both sides of the coin well enough to understand that even if you think Clinton is a horrible choice, if you do not want to see Donald Trump in the position of policy (and cultural) headmaster for the next four (or eight!!!!) years, Hillary is your ONLY choice.
If you care about appointments to the Supreme Court, Clinton is your only choice.
If you care about the environment, Clinton is your only choice.
If the Affordable Care Act, Marriage Equality and Roe v. Wade matter to you, it’s got to be Clinton.
If you believe that #BlackLivesMatter and stand with our LGBT community, Clinton is the way to go.
If you are deeply disturbed by the idea of a man who mocks the disabled and calls women “pigs,” “dogs,” and a “piece of ass,” becoming leader of the free world? It’s Clinton all the way.
And if none of these things is of any concern to you, then frankly I suggest you do a bit of soul searching.
I am a dreamer, like my Dad. So for the record, if some crazy, unprecedented thing happened and Hillary stepped down and the DNC ran Bernie instead, I would vote for him! But I am a pragmatist, like my Mom, and realize that the chances of that happening are slim and the chances of a 3rd party candidate rising up and suddenly overtaking Trump in the polls are nonexistent. So #ImWithHer. That is how it is this time.
This is NOT just about policy, it is about the cultural tone of our country. And Trump has proven time and time again that he is culturally tone-deaf; he emboldens racists, misogynists and those who think guns solve problems. If Hillary Clinton (God, please!) takes the White House, we can at the very least feel reassured that we will continue to somewhat resemble a country with inclusive, progressive beliefs, whatever loopholes to this reality the policies may have.
And I feel certain that with Hillary as our Commander-in-Chief (God, please!) Bernie Sanders and others like him will have her ear. And the one consistent thing people who know her personally say about Hillary Clinton is that Hillary LISTENS.
I’m a pragmatist, so #ImWithHer.
And I’m a dreamer, so I hold out hope that this can work out better than any of us imagine.
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Photo: Getty Images
Read Kara Post-Kennedy every week here on The Good Men Project!
State of American politics is overloaded with crap and ready to collapse. Not a real politician to be found. All are yes people the elitists select who enslave society. No real freedom just an illusion creating a realistic effect.
Trump is not a dreamer. He is a delusional poor-minded man, a manipulator and stand-up comedian, a guy who speaks just in order to elicit reactions from the audience and therefore says whatever prejudices and stupidity the not-critical-thinking masses can laugh about or nod about. Dreams are wonderful things, but he doesn’t have one, he blurbs fantasies about his own “grandeuer”. He is the symptom of the right wing crises, the end of values/vision to look forward. What remains is the regurgitation of the rotten slogans.
The idealist in me loves the concept of raising the minimum wage. There must be a certain level of compensation or it is slavery. I’d also love to think that the super wealthy don’t need all that profit so it will simply lower it. The pragmatist understands that they may not need it, but they’ll want it so they’ll do other things to squeeze the profit out, namely raising prices. I’m in one of those areas where the minimum wage has just been raised by local ordinance. People have been surprised by how the prices have spiked. People on minimum… Read more »
My husband and I also share in your father’s love of It’s a Wonderful Life. It IS our ATF movie. So, I relate to much of what you write in your article. We were both Bernie Sanders supporters. I still am. I am still dreaming that Hillary drops out or is jailed–either would be appropriate given her transgressions. In light of my awakening to the realities of American politics. Finally realizing that we do not have a democracy. I will be supporting Jill Stein representing the Green Party. The Dreamer in me cannot cast a vote for either Trump nor… Read more »