https://barackobama.medium.com/my-conversation-with-brian-tyler-cohen-e25cac125f44
The same would be true, let’s say here in Los Angeles, around the homeless issue. I think morally, ethically speaking, it is an atrocity that in a country that’s wealthy, we have people just on the streets, and we should insist on policies that recognize their full humanity, people who are houseless, and be able to provide them the help and resources that they need.
But we should also recognize that the average person doesn’t want to have to navigate around a tent city in the middle of downtown, and that we’re not going to be able to build a working majority and support for the resources that we need to help folks like that, whether it’s drug treatment or temporary housing or what have you, we’re not going to be able to generate support for it if we simply say, you know what, it’s not their fault, and so they should be able to do whatever they want, because that’s a losing political strategy.
That doesn’t mean that we care less about those folks. It means that if we really care about them, then we’ve got to try to figure out, how do we gain majority support and be practical in terms of what we can get through at this moment in time, and build on those victories.
