Three Factual reasons why "Democratic Socialism" will never get off the ground:

                                             

I respect and appreciate many of the people who are hopeful Sanders will start his revolution.  The reality of why he will never even get started hit me like an epiphany today.   

  

The first reason Democratic Socialism (DS from here out) will not get the flywheel started, let alone get off the ground:

#1. The main and primary claim of DS is this: The masses will coalesce and as one, together we will work for the "common good" of everyone. That's impossible. How do I know this can't happen? In our culture we can't agree on what a healthy lifestyle is --  like which is better, eating meat or being vegetarians, heck, we can't even agree over gas vs charcoal grilling. Our nation isn't simply divided.  Our nation is fragmented.

We will never come to a consensus over what the common good is.  

We are basically split 50/50 over liberalism & conservationism as it is, so democratically voting on the issue isn't the solution to finding the common good.  Our diverse nation has too many agendas floating around, and we will not agree on what is the best path forward for quite some time.  Also, think of the chasm that separates religious people of different faiths, and the span that separates the faithful from the secular.  All of these worldviews are so far apart, you'll never convince these scattered people what the common good is.  But wait, there's more....

The second reason DS will never get off the ground:

#2. Our nation will never submit to a panel of experts within the government that selects our working positions.  We are too independent.  For DS to succeed, it would have to assign workers to certain fields.  Since money is no longer used to motivate people in a DS society, there will be slots that no one will fill willingly.  I will not degrade any trade or field of work by coming up with an example, but simply use your imagination to stir up the worst jobs you can think of, then remember work under the DS utopia is volunteer-sourced, and think who in their right mind would take on those horrid jobs, the occupations that you know are wretched.  Oh yes, there's more...

The third reason DS will never fly:

#3. If you thought "Who will choose people to work in certain fields against their will?" was a deal breaker, it's about to get way worse.  The 3rd reason that DS will never have the majority's support is the biggest question no one is asking about DS: Who enforces the DS policies of work and the redistribution of wealth?  It can't be the masses, just reflect on major cities when a natural disaster strikes and people riot and loot.

One might respond to this question of enforcement by asking, "Isn't that why we elect political leaders, it is "Democratic" socialism after all?"  The reality is, DS has to have a pyramid leadership structure to keep the plebs in line.  For DS to function, there will have to be absolute rulers who are not accountable to others to enforce the policies as an absolute supreme power.  We can't even agree in our culture over "spanking" or putting kids in "time out" how would we ever enforce DS?

Sounds like fascism, I know.  But use some common sense, how could this DS system ever realistically be enforced?  We are strong willed people, with a deep sense of personal identity and independence.  If someone in favor of DS were to propose, "We could trust the people to do what's right because they are basically good natured," then we wouldn't need DS in the first place.

In summary: We won't be able to agree to what the common good is ("we the people" can't even agree on which news outlet is trustworthy, and for good reasons), people will not submit to working in certain areas they find unpleasant while other people live an easier lifestyle in a cashless society (talk about a revolution starter), and it's not possible to enforce the polices of democratic socialism (everyone wants their voice to be heard as the loudest).  Sadly, we can't even eliminate racism or bigotry, think of all the racists and bigots out there, and you think they will line up with your views?   

Will we be worse off because of 2015 -- "the year of victimization"

It used to be said whenever we gather together with friends and family around the holidays, to be polite, we should avoid talking about religion and politics.  Nowadays it seems it’s nearly impossible for us to talk about anything, at anytime, without offending others.

Lately, as a culture, we bristle at the very idea of being offended.  I’m not just talking about reactions from sharing the good news either, though I wonder about future implications when it comes to sharing the gospel.  We’ve been impacted negatively by a prominent cultural shift that has weakened our caliber of character & temperament -- we’ve reached a point where we collectively collapse into a blubbering puddle whenever someone disagrees with us -- or heaven forbid, they offend us.

Have we forgotten Christmas and Easter are offensive?  Simply put, the idea that God would have to enter our world as a baby and then grow up, to die to save us (which implies we need rescuing) can be a slap in the face.  Most of us recognize we are far from perfect, but we like to think we are basically good people at heart.  Therefore, some people ask, “How dare God insinuate we are sinful, weak, broken, and lost without Him?”

God can communicate all of this and more, not only because it’s true, but because He is in the process of redeeming all things (for an example, read Col 1:19-23).  Yes, the gospel is offensive to humanity, but it’s not insulting.  The gospel offends, but it isn’t degrading either -- it’s uplifting once the message gets past our defenses.  Remember, the gospel can be foolishness to some or an intellectual/religious obstacle to others, just like Paul writes about in I Cor 1:20-25.

Jesus was Crucified because He offended the religious establishment.  And, remember Peter clarified Jesus was the “rock of offence,” “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  (1 Peter 2:6-8 ESV)

If I’ve recognized a single theme which epitomizes this year, I’d say we could encapsulate the sentiment of 2015 as a year where people have become so hypersensitive and inflexible in their thinking, that people are too easily offended.  And, we can’t “offend” anyone without risking retaliation or being labeled as an intolerant hate-monger.  This all smacks of an immature smokescreen that has hijacked mature dialogue.

From the red cups at Starbucks to college professors telling students to wear whatever Halloween costume they want, and from fights over Confederate flags to stores who say “Happy Holidays,” to the latest PC trend, to the need for gender-neutral language on college campuses, in 2015 it has become the year where offending others is now the Cardinal sin of all times.  Sadly, it’s become chic to feign victimhood and claim you are offended.  This current trend will not end until we’ve become a society that embraces complete censorship of any divergent ideas.     

Which is why we need to embrace being offended.  I’m not saying people should ever be indecent, crude, rude, belligerent, hateful, ugly, or mean.  I’m NOT endorsing racism, ethnocentrism, discrimination, or bigotry.  I am saying it’s necessary to experience being offended in order to grow.

Believers need to embrace this truth, there’s nothing inherently malicious about delivering a message that offends others.  And further yet, at times it’s necessary to be offended if we are to reach maturity.  The Apostle Paul wrestled with this, as we read in Gal 4:16, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

Emotionally, we are handicapping an entire generation of young people when we neglect this fact: Tolerance, which our culture highly values (rightly so) requires by definition that there are opposing views being expressed.  

We have to get to the place where we no longer dismiss someone because they offend us, and we can no longer shelter people who might be offended by the beliefs of others.  In reality, none of us are always right 100% of the time, and, our personal opinions aren’t always the most important perspectives in the room.  As I look around and see how much we’ve empowered this position of weakness which can’t tolerate being offended, this whole situation where we’ve been culturally hijacked by the fear of offending others, it reminds me of the “Emperor's new clothes.”

If we can’t offend people because we are intimidated by their reactions, then sharing the most offensive message will become nearly impossible to articulate -- in fact, evangelism will probably become illegal hate speech if we allow this pattern to continue.