What could work for Bernie would be for him to activate

[Jackpine Radical]

the model of the Wise/Mystical Mentor,Guide & Elder Hero: Moses, Gandalf, Obi-wan Kenobi, whatsisname in Harry Potter, etc., to build an emotional association between him & that archetypal figure. I'm no Ed Bernays, so I'll leave to the troops the twin tasks of deciding whether this kind of thinking has any merit, and how the association can be planted in the public mind through the social media.

[peacebird]

1. I like it! Have you signed the credo petition to get him to run yet? Link here

https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/encourage-senator-bernie-sanders-to-run-for-president-in-2016-as-a-democrat

[Dont call me Shirley]

2. Good question, JR!

I already have a view of Bernie as the sage figure.

For those who don't though, transposing the two images together and merging the characters famous lines with Bernie's mantras, making either still images or gifs of these "mergings". Create a website and kick, kick, kick on social sites. This project would need a good graphic artist, wordsmith and IT person.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Someone plugged into pop culture, who knows the current variants of the archetypes.

This could be done as an online workgroup.

Beyond that, a vision for society. Camelot worked for the JFK generation, I got no clue what might fly for today.

[Dont call me Shirley]

4. The hardest problem to overcome with the youth of today is that lying, cheating, stealing, bullying

is how they believe the way the world works. Behaving badly is the modern day meme. The oligarchs have so entrenched this message into the minds of the 35 and under generation that it is going to be difficult in today's media lameness to counteract. It's really going to take some savvy kids with creative genius to come up with a "viral do-good-be-good meme".

[F4lconF16]

5. I agree and disagree.

Speaking as a youth, I'd say that you're correct in that we perceive the world as a place where doing bad gets rewards. But I don't think many (or even a large minority) want it to be that way. By and large, we just feel screwed, and keep watching our futures go down the tube while the people screwing us get away with it. It's what keeps us disengaged, and, like you said, the oligarchs have worked hard to make it that way.

I think if we see some light, if we see someone who cares and is willing to fight for us, we will support them and fight for them. We want to change how this world works, too, but I think we feel lost, unfocused, and unsure about how to do so. A good leader could harness a lot of frustration out there, because our current rulers aren't.

[pangaia]

6. Well said.

I am 71, although a very YOUNG 71, I like to think. My one full-time employee is 30 and will buy me out in a couple months. He is one of the most balanced people I have known, even though he voted for McCain.. He has learned to regret his decision. :&gt

I am a classically trained musician, having reached a quite high level of success and all that entails vis s vis lifetime connections with other artistic and like-minded liberals and progressives throughout the world. He and I get along very, very well. He enjoys learning about my experience, going to occasional concerts, discussing art and culture. especially Mumford and Sons....etc.. He ALSO, enjoys playing darts with the rednecks on his dart team at the local bar and-- mudding around in pick up trucks.

So, he is the rare bird who can relate to 2 very different sides.. (I wish I could,)

He is socially extremely liberal--doesn't understand the big to-do about gays, 'muslim'. abortion etc etc blah, blah, blah..... financially not quite as much. etc etc.. He does not want to have to pay into social security- which I can certainly understand from his viewpoint.. maybe yours as well, or not.. I don't know.
When I first met him he listened to the evil radio blob. Now he listens to NPR.. a step up, for sure..

Point being, he has come to realize we are getting screwed, with a little help from his employer, i must say...

So, given the right candidate, as discussed here, I have no doubt that he and many of his friends would be on board. Perhaps not his dart team, however. :&gt )

[Jackpine Radical]

7. Heh--Lots of people get a little help from their employers

in realizing they're getting screwed.

Probly not as gently as you transmitted the message, though.

[Dont call me Shirley]

8. We all must reject "the system" the oligarchs have put in place, at the same time create a new

working system which is balanced and equitable for all. A peaceful changeover, done one step at a time. The "market" needs to exist to fill human needs, not to line the coffers of the few.

The health of the earth must be given high priority, so your generation can live. The oligarchs must be stripped of their self-conceived "right-to-pollute". They are self-destructive parasites, content to destroy the environment we all live in.

Your generation must create leaders who can see into the future the consequences of their actions. And you must begin listening to your wise inner voices, ignoring your short-term selfish driven desires. A real expansion of awareness within each person must occur so you are able to fix the damage created by the many generations who selfishly ravaged the world.

I keep trying to instill these ideas into my own kids minds, but they just don't wanna listen, they fight hearing it. That's the problem I see with the teen and twenty-something generation.

Listening. Awareness. Thoughtfulness. Intuition.

[appalachiablue]

10. Appreciate your perspectives, very helpful. It's true that things are dog eat dog, cutthroat now

in order to get ahead and survive. But it's highly disruptive and ultimately destructive to life. Not that work was ever easier before, just that the savage, neoliberal, corporate profit motive and greed weren't so prominent, and there were employee benefits and things like normal work hours.

Bernie Sanders, Eliz. Warren and many others effectively point out the corrupted, ugly system we have now and are working hard to attack the systemic rot at the top, the oligarchic control. There's also much going on from the ground up, the roots. The economic system will crumble, it's simply not sustainable. Experts see that the economy will crash again, sooner than later because it's very fragile, top heavy and no real banking reforms were implemented after 2008, as intended- matters are that twisted.

What young people are experiencing now gives me much pain, it's so unfair, the student debt, harsh work, uncertain contract jobs or no work. It's all wrong. There must be change in the near future, all I can say. In the meantime, hang in there and try to enjoy your beautiful young lives.

[aspirant]

9. Sages and heros are sometimes untouchable

and Camelot even had Druids.

A concept may have more impact.

Can we re-discover the AMERICAN DREAM.

How about Bernie's image next to public schools, a family standing outside their foreclosed or non-foreclosed home, a family actually taking a vacation, a person clocking in to his/her job etc. Put emotion into the dream.

At the core of "Hope and Change" IS the American Dream

The American Dream can come alive and live again

[appalachiablue]

11. Good ideas, the re-discovery dream theme & making things personal, the reality of regular folks.

[F4lconF16]

12. I think a focus on the people and the emotions is better.

The American Dream is exclusive, much as we may not want it to be. It tends to ignore the historical reality of minorities in this country, and place the success of whites at the forefront. This cannot be an American Dream, because that idea is a fantasy. It is a naive hope that we can all become Americans, a cultural melting pot that inevitably melts us all into one color: white.

This has to be a movement that places equality at it's front and center. Look at the history of the socialist movement--the closest it ever got to succeeding was when it had fully embraced the black rights movement as well as labor. It failed in large part because there was a significant portion of those groups who refused to do so.

I would submit to you the idea of a concrete plan to build a new America. Let's draw up a list of issues and methods to address them that will be the spearhead of the campaign. I, as with many others I know, don't hear hope in the idea of the American Dream. I hear crushed ideas, and fanciful expectations. We can't afford to dream any longer--we need to do.

(A couple of links, food for thought:
http://wrt-intertext.syr.edu/I2/pitts.html
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5858106)

[aspirant]

13. If the American Dream has been limiting

let's make it all inclusive

The Dreams of "WE THE PEOPLE," Make Them Come True ( or, They Can Come True)

The American Dream Is For All, Nobody Left Behind

Our Highest Dream, One Nation Equal And Free

Even MLK had a Dream!

[F4lconF16]

14. The American Dream is by its nature non-inclusive.

We can try to change that, but we'll be fighting 200+ years of history and disparity. I think a better idea would be to start anew, with a clear platform and a simple message.

I don't like the American Dream. It's not my dream; it's not the dream of many others. I don't want to dream. I don't want hope. I don't want to pretend that we're doing something while digging ourselves further into an already too-deep hole.

I want to fight.

If we have a clear platform and a message that reaches out to those with the least, we can mobilize a force that has been silenced for years. The people want government to work. They want social security. They want universal healthcare. They want a decent, living wage. They want equality. They want justice. They want universal rights. They want an end to war. They want an end to government spying. And we could provide all that, if we so desired.

If we run Bernie Sanders, people will fight for him. But they need to know exactly why they're fighting for him. Let's cut the bullshit, get rid of hope and dreams, and do something.

It's too late not to.

[aspirant]

15. A platform is a DREAM

If you are able to enact universal healthcare, living wage, equality, justice, universal rights, show war the door and stop govt spying TODAY, I'm all for it!

A platform establishes action for tomorrow.

Hope is an emotion, dreams are visions of actions to come

MLK dreams turned into marches, unity and legislation.

I have a past OP here on PRG called "setting up an organizing agenda," tell me what you think.

Bernie has put out a multiple point plan, please check it out.

[F4lconF16]

16. Point taken.

I get that a dream represents what we wish to achieve at some point in the future. I just don't like the language, personally. It feels as if we've been dreaming for a long time. I'd rather the emphasis now be on waking up.

Though the language shift may seem inconsequential to you, it makes a big difference in what I hear from politicians. I want none of the disappointment associated with Obama's "hope and change". I've been told too many times about recharging the American Dream. I've heard those lies enough to know that that's exactly what they are: lies.

I want concrete plans, policies, and actions. Those may be part of a "dream" to many, but I simply view it as my life.

I saw that OP, and I think it's an excellent step forward. Same goes for Sander's plan (I knew he had one, just making the point that we need a clear agenda. He has provided one).