commercials are for soda

I am not a person with a 30 second attention span.

I can handle a complex idea being explained to me.

I have the ability to understand that problems might not have easy resolutions.

I am willing to sacrifice what is easy for what is right.

We have been inundated with the idea that Democrats are lost and have no clear vision ever since Clinton left office. There is almost a weekly article in all major magazines reinforcing this misconception. Lastly I read this article pointed out to me by the Hairy Ape, and while the article has many, and I mean many, great points and interesting perspectives, I still don't like the perpetuation of the idea that Democrats are lost.

The Democrats that I volunteer with are still very much the party of the people. The face of America has changed a lot and I agree that there is a definite 'me first' mentality in this country; but as a party we still stand for many of the same things. The difference is that while we continue to become a more televised/media central/fast food/sound bited nation the Democratics are unable to shrink their message to fit into a 30 second ad. The Democratic messages have always been ones that need at least an hour long documentary, because we are attacking what is complex about our problems as a nation, and as a people. Shrinking the amount of time to get a message across is very advantageous to the Republican Party. It enables them to skim the surface. Say these sound bites out loud and see how they play:

Marriage is sacred.
Every American deserves to keep more of their hard earned money.
It is your right to protect yourself.
Pro life.

Now try these:

Every person has the right to healthcare.
Every child deserves a good education.
Protect our planet.
Pro choice.

The first 4 are insular and about you as the individual. The second four are about everyone. So they beg the question - How much do we have to give up in order to get them?

The reason that democrats don't fair well with a concise message is because there isn't one. There are many. There is no one answer either. The issues are complex and the solutions are not easy. It will be hard to become environmentally friendly -hard for everyone. It will be hard to make healthcare universal and education better, and there is no quick clear road to it. What is not hard is allowing two consenting adults to get married, but it is very difficult to fight ignorance and bigotry; and Democrats are the party that have the tenacity to invoke that kind of change.

What we don't have is a poster boy/girl. We need a new JFK, Clinton, FDR. We need someone who knows how to demystify the big issues for the public. What we also need are real debates. Ones that are not rehearsed, ones where they talk directly to each other and duke it out, ones where the people in the room are not required to submit there questions beforehand. We need to make our politicians become thinkers, not speakers. We need free and equal media coverage for elections. Most of all we need politicians to own up to our true America. We need them to say, 'I need more than two minutes to answer this question.'