Miracles and unicorns
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 by Dave Winer

When real change comes it won't look like what they promise on the campaign trail, which usually is like the cartoon of the mathematician in front of a blackboard with all kinds of equations on it, and in the middle it says Then A Miracle Occurs. Once in office everything should transform itself magically and we'll all work together to solve all the problems and taxes won't go up, and all the benefits will remain.

That won't be real change, because while it's sexy during a campaign, when reality kicks in after Inauguration Day, unless there are all-new people there, it's not going to change, and there aren't going to be all-new people there. 

However, I believe there is potential for real change, but only if people commit to being involved in governing after the election. That's what Sanders says, more or less, but not clearly enough. Nothing about what he proposes to do, as vague as it is, has a prayer if people aren't willing to go to rallies and march and strike to make it happen. I assume he glosses this over because we're in the magic and unicorns phase of the campaign. If he were too clear about it, people might get bored or scared, or stop believing. A lot of minds have to change before you can have the kind of change he's talking about. 

I've seen this movie, as I think you can tell. I even signed on to working after the election, but each time when the moment came for us to participate in government, it just reverted to the way it worked before. And no, I don't believe this time is different. Not until I see people reorienting their lives to become politically active beyond the election, and equally important, the candidates explain exactly how that's going to work, and it has to sound like it has a chance. 

That's not to say that I've given up, we have huge problems to deal with, beyond income inequality. I wish we were talking about the kind of change that would give our climate a chance. If that's what Sanders was selling, I'd be much more enthusiastic. Somehow climate change isn't any candidate's talking point. That shows something is seriously wrong with our political system, and what's wrong includes Sanders and his supporters.