Idealisms and Political Slogans

"And when you lose your job, you will be able to hold on to your health insurance . . . "

Remember those words? They were spoken by Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign.

People love simplicity and idealism! Affordable health care for all. What a simple and wonderful concept. A concept that sells. That's the primary purpose of creating a political slogan. To sell oneself as a preferred candidate for a political office. Aspire to the people's hopes and dreams. Convince them that our nation can achieve those dreams with a simple slogan like "Yes, we can!" It's your ticket to a good paying political job with excellent benefits.

"Read my lips. No new taxes!" Those were the words that helped George W Bush win the election.

"There you go again. Misinterpreting everything I say." Memorable words spoken by Ronald Reagan in a Presidential Debate.

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." John F Kennedy during the 1960 Presidential election.

Famous phrases. Most of them bring us a sense of security or patriotism or both.

John McCain and other Congressmen referred to the unemployed as lazy. That brings a sense of economic security. And many people liked those references to the unemployed. Many people believed it.

Privatize Social Security. Sounds great. Doesn't it? Reform Medicare and Medicaid. Sounds wonderful. Resolve the deficit by cutting aid to lazy people who milk the government? Lazy? Makes one feel secured. Doesn't it?

His parents are on Medicaid and in a nursing home because he was too lazy to earn enough money to care for them? A simple thought that is tempting to accept because it make one's world a little more secure.

But do all these slogans and phrases represent reality? Is life really that simple? Don't attempt to answer these questions during a campaign for a political office. People don't want complex explanations. They want simplicity.

Conservative idealism. Liberal idealism. The problem isn't that the slogan's are ideal. The problem is that people believe that these liberal and democratic slogans are the '˜one size fits all' cure for an ailing economy. In fact, they are not.

There is no '˜one size fits all' cure. Destroying Welfare will not put people back to work. Medicare and Medicaid reforms will not resolve our national debt. The death of Osama did not end the war on terror nor did it change the primary reason for being in Afghanistan. But isn't it great to dream -- even if only momentarily that -- that these idealisms are reality?

At some point, we have to face reality. At some point, we accept that fact that not everyone could overcome their problems and become productive Americans. At some point we have to face the fact that the war on terror is an endless war. At some point we have to realize that we can not solve our social ills by taking money away from those causes nor by throwing money at those causes. At some point we have to realize our limitations.

And we must recognize political slogans for what they are: the medium for political success. It's okay to dream . . . As long as the dreamer recognizes it as a dream. One of the characteristics of some forms of mental illness is that the person cannot distinguish between reality and dreams. But we cannot determine whether a person is mentally ill or lazy by simply observing that person sitting on the front porch all day every day.