Offer them hope. Make it real.

I think extremism is likely to take hold during times of economic crisis, and I think there has been an economic crisis taking place in this country since the ‘70s. Massive amounts of wealth are being transferred to the 1%. The middle class is shrinking. The belief that your children will be better off than you is fading. The American dream is dying. Yet too many in power continue to gauge our economic wellbeing by looking at the profits of corporations, the stock market and the unemployment rate. Never mind that corporations can make money hands over fists, stocks can be sky high, and official unemployment rates can be relatively low, and still, ordinary Americans can be struggling. Many have stopped looking for work, so they’re not counted in those stats, and many who are employed have low wage jobs.

The Republicans have done a wonderful job of convincing poor and lower middle-class whites that the reason they’re not getting ahead is because the government is overtaxing the rich, placing too many restrictions on business, and spending too much on minorities and allowing illegal immigrants to steal their jobs.

The only answer to bigotry is to say no to it and to challenge it. But I think the Democrats can do a much better job at offering economic hope. Rather than being a coastal status quo party, or an incremental change party, I think the Dems need to acknowledge the serious assault on the middle class, and they need to offer solutions.

Those who work for a living should not have to work more than 40 hours a week so they can have a life outside of work, and working people should have a decent income even if they work at Wal-Mart or deliver pizza. Education and training should be accessible and affordable. Medical care should be a right, not a privilege, and you shouldn’t fear poverty if you become too old or too sick to work, or if you can’t find work. That last bit is more important than many realize because it’s not really other people who are taking away those storied factory jobs of the 1950s, it’s automation. We have to convince working Americans that lower taxes on the rich and fewer regulations will not bring back those factory jobs. We can’t return to the past. Most of us wouldn’t want to even if we could. We also can’t count on perpetual economic growth. There comes a point when there is already enough goods and services available. Then the problem becomes a matter of distribution, not scarcity.

Our ancestors would likely be amazed at our abundance, but they would also likely be disheartened that so many are not allowed to share in that abundance or live in fear of going without. We’ve allowed Republicans and the Religious Right to exploit that fear long enough. We have to be the ones who offer a shining city on a hill. We have to find political candidates who can speak to the people, listen to their concerns, and offer soaring, inspirational goals for the future. We need to take emotion into account and use it. But we have to make sure our rhetoric isn’t empty or manipulative. Our shining city will be real.