Sanders’ “America” Ad Was Prophetic—We Just Didn’t Know Why

Sanders’ “America” campaign ad was hailed as one of the great political ads of all time. Transcending traditional party politics, speaking to the aspirations of millions for a better America, it paid homage to our shared heritage.  It also spoke to a longing for community that often goes unrecognized.  And it did all of this in just one minute.  But there was also a wistful quality to the ad, which ignored some of Paul Simon’s most disturbing lyrics.  Those who knew the song felt the weight of this absence.  We knew that beyond the inspirational framing of some of the song’s lyrics in the ad, there were also biting and critical ones.  And these other lyrics proved to be a harbinger of what we now face: a future without the optimism that once appeared to be our birthright.

America in 2016 is not a joyful place.  We Americans are distrustful.  We are insecure.  We are floundering.  We are alienated.  We are angry.  We are lost. Simon writes, we’ve “all come to look for America,” but it is no where to be found.  And certainly the candidates of the two major parties, as well as the two major parties, demonstrate daily just how bad things are.  There is the happy talk from Clinton and her allies; you know, the things are getting (incrementally) better all of the time nonsense.  And there are Trump’s outrageous promises to fix things he doesn’t even understand.  Meanwhile Bernie is out campaigning for Clinton and traditional Democrats.  It’s a sad, sad show.

Here are the lyrics to “America.”  Watch Sanders’ ad, and watch it with all of the lyrics in mind.  We have fallen so far from the promise of his campaign and our history—and there is so little in the immediate future to lift us—it seems that the title of Richard Fariña’s novel, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me,* best describes where we are as a nation.