Have you sat down and thought how much America (no less the world) has changed in just a handful of years? Consider the country in the 1990’s vs the 2010’s. Twenty years ago was a time of prosperity, when American suburban culture and everyday success for families was like that of the 1950’s. Different generations look at both decades with a terrible sense of nostalgia. Things were just better in those days, weren’t they?
Then something strange began to happen. A mass shooting at a Colorado High School became a warning for the new norm. Terrorism became a massive anxiety. The economy we so trusted became the enemy of many people. Social issues that moved nowhere for decades suddenly changed perspective with rapid speed, becoming the law of the land.
Everyone seems to have lost control of their world, haven’t they?
For the youth and millennials, what had been so eagerly promised had turned out to be nothing more than a farce. They are buried in debt for trying to get an education. Job opportunities to not exist. Elements of injustice - from race, economics, genders, and more - are being waged with no apparent progress in sight.
The older generations have had their world pulled out from under them. What was once so secure is gone. Their very way of knowing - the conservative, suburban viewpoint has crumbled around them without any of their input. The rug pulled from underneath.
If you need any more notice on the generational gap of beliefs, here’s a reminder: two movements came from the chaos, the Tea Party movement, and Occupy Wall Street.
One thing may be all but certain: politics will never be the same.
The political parties are rupturing, collapsing into opposing viewpoints. Once upon a time being a moderate politician was always the safest bet: vote for a moderate and you will achieve continuity and peace. In essence, nothing major in your life will change.
People are realizing that moderates are having a difficult time getting just about anything done. Obama is not as far left as Bernie Sanders, but farther left than Bill Clinton. Despite the stepping stones in progressivism in the White House, little seemed to improve the every day lives of Americans. Now with political discord in Washington at a massive height, staggering student debt and wages, where no Wall Street Executives responsible for the crisis of ’08 are in jail (or even removed from their positions), people on every side are disgusted. They aren’t requesting change like they did with Obama. They are essentially demanding it: either to the extreme right with Trump or the extreme left with Sanders.
This election will be discussed for years to come, regardless of the outcome. If the fury of the people did not rise up as it is now, candidates such as Clinton, Rubio, Bush, Kasich, and even O’Malley would be powerhouses. It’s not happening, because the average moderate can no longer be trusted to do any good.
What may be even more troubling is that this may just be the start. Can the election catapult into the House, Senate, local and state races? There’s a chance. If Sanders becomes the nominee and keeps the enthusiasm going, young people may flock to the polls and overwhelm the election with progressive values similar to Sanders. The same can happen on the right. Should Clinton win the nomination, it’s likely the Republican party will hold onto the House and make her legislative agenda just as difficult as Obama’s to pass.
Truth be told, we’re living in an era where the current political structure may be collapsing. With so many Republicans in the running, it’s tearing itself apart: the evangelical Republicans who want Christian ideals nationwide. The libertarians and conservatives wanting as little government as possible. Those who want the dismantling of welfare and medicare as a whole, the moderates who simply want a cleansing of government programs to see what works and what doesn’t. Let’s not forget the Tea Party influence as well.
The Democrats do not have an electability problem. There’s little sign the Hispanic and Black communities are going to go Republican (with Trump as a nominee the chance of such a thing happening is worthless to consider), and young voters are overwhelmingly progressive in their views. The challenge is within the members themselves: moderates who believe slow and steady steps will be the best way forward, and young people who believe we must shift to a European model of governing. The internet culture has not done moderate democrats any favors. Now with Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and more, young people stubborn in their beliefs can meet a world of young people (who overwhelmingly use the internet compared to other ages) who share those beliefs.
America ten years from now will not be the America of today. Politicians have ignored the working people for such a long period of time that many are embracing a democratic socialist, and - perhaps more shockingly - a candidate echoing elements of fascism.
Regardless of Iowa, regardless of New Hampshire, The times are a’ changin’.
