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Quote of the Day: The Outsider
“Because our politics has always rewarded those who can successfully claim the mantle of the outsider—now even more than usual—the temptation to approach our institutions antagonistically, or to avoid them altogether, has grown very strong. When we look for solutions, we tend to look not to institutions but to individuals, movements, ideals, or maverick outsiders.” — Yuval Levin, A Time to Build
The preference for the “outsider” is more dominant than ever: that’s probably the reason Donald Trump was elected. He was not only an outsider to the federal government but an outsider to any kind of government. And people were looking for a person who had no ties to government programs or agendas, and who was prepared to stir up the swamp; in many ways, that’s just what Donald Trump promised and what he has done.
The Democrats, on the other hand, seem determined to vote for a different kind of “outsider”: Bernie Sanders, who has been in the Senate seemingly forever, but has never supported a democratic republic; he is a self-identified socialist. He has always championed communism, socialism, countries like Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. In spite of everything that this country has made available to him, he fights for an imaginary “little guy,” a supposedly impoverished middle class, and is blind to the irony of his condemnation of billionaires, when he lives in a mansion and has millions himself.
We can use the value of “honesty” to measure these two men. Some people would say they are both honest and transparent about their agendas and expressing them to the public. When it comes to honesty, however, I think that Trump is the only one who is honest with himself and the people. Sanders is not only dishonest with himself but has created an imaginary future that will never come to pass; I happen to believe that he is either incredibly foolish or a master of deception. In fact, if he were elected, he would destroy this country.
I think I’ll stay with the other outsider.
Published in Politics
“In fact, if he were elected, he would destroy this country.”
I agree with you. I think Bernie has told us exactly what his plans are-to destroy the foundations of American liberty and remake the country modeled after his beloved Soviet Russia. @susanquinn yes on both men being outsiders, but I don’t think Trump wants any part of joining the swamp or even establishing his own “insider” government. And he is thoroughly vilified by the current establishment who’ve been exposed as the power mongers they are. Bernie on the other hand might be a Democrat outsider, but he wants to be the Comrade in Chief of his own establishment. I haven’t read Yuval’s book yet, but people voted for Trump because they lost faith in our institutions. Government has grown exponentially, yet our lives haven’t necessarily changed for the better. So a lot of us thumbed our noses at the pundits & smarties who for years told us how to vote-what’s to lose? Bernie wants to double down on expanding already bad & corrupt government programs. Sorry, my rant is over.
An excellent rant, too, @jennastocker. You’ve covered many of my concerns. It’s been interesting reviewing the Super Tuesday results, with Joe Biden making inroads. But it’s too soon to know.
I have no reason to think that Trump wants any part of the swamp. All indications are that he really does care about the people of this country. I’m counting on that commitment to continue!
This is an oxymoron like “a rich serf”. We are middle class and nowhere near impoverished, although my wife often accuses me of lacking manners . . .
Socialist / Communists like Sanders have also created an imaginary past, ignoring the 100+ million deaths attributed to these systems. He’s not necessarily foolish or a master of deception, he’s just telling gullible people what they want to hear.
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Institutions matter alot. They shape the individuals who are supposed to save us after all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZHZc-kcyQQ
I took the time last week to watch a Bernie rally on C-SPAN. I was amazed. I knew all of Bernie’s proposals but never heard them laid out in sequence before.
They were like demands from the college students who occupied the Dean’s office, except they made those kids look like pikers!
We want free tuition! Free food in the cafeteria, and not just any crappy food, we want lobster and Alaskan King Crab and Norwegian salmon!
And we want guaranteed jobs when we graduate! And no grades either! And it’s not only what we want, we want to take it away from the people we hate!
We have to stop importing stupid people into our country and also upgrade our education system for those who are already here. Idiocracy was supposed to be a parody set 500 years in the future.
It is so bizarre, isn’t it @franco? I’m starting to think that the adults in the room, based on the most recent support of Biden, are beginning to realize just how crazy his ideas are. Fingers crossed.