When I was young, elections actually felt inspiring (to me).
Of course, they were not ridiculous to the point that they are now, with just tons of money poured in to basically assure that the average American is priced out. It seems clear, in the reality of modern elections right now, that the interests of the average American is not the deciding factor in elections today, although it certainly should be.
I believe that we should return to what Lincoln so aptly described as a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Given the political climate in the nation right now, however, that seems almost like a pipe dream.
It was not always like that, however. And there were still some vestiges of real democracy even in elections from my youth, so that I can actually remember them. Not that it was some idealized time by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the grim reality that we face now was in the works back then, and this was accurately predicted by Jello Biafra back then. It seemed a bit excessive and too harsh a judgment perhaps back then, but the reality is that this has indeed come to pass.
At the time, I did not realize all of this. I was just a kid in junior high school trying to fit in. As far as the American political system was concerned, to the extent that I understood it, it seemed that the system had some parts that did not work, but that overall, it was not a bad system, and that the best of American ideals could be realized, and real change and improvements could be affected through it. That was my more idealistic side, but I think it was also the remnants that were still evident in the country from a more idealistic age, and age that felt like it had happened long ago back then, but which seems incredibly naive and impossibly long ago now, as if it had all happened in some other nation entirely.
In any case, there are certain impressions that we all get, which seem to symbolize the idealism that we strive for.
And at the time, this was greatly influenced by television. I watched the debates and the national conventions of both parties (yes, you can definitely say that I was a weird kid). I even remember the theme song and imagery for CBS for election night in 1988, when I still believed that elections offered a real opportunity for Americans to reflect, and to take an active part in helping to make the country a better place.
Unfortunately, I know better now. We all do.
Still, I longed to see it again, but CBS did not repeat it in subsequent election nights that I tuned in for. Many years later, searches on Youtube netted no results....until recently.
So, I just thought it might be nice to post it and remember earlier, and probably still better, times:
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