Ideals and Reality?

Question

What is the difference between ideals and reality?
How does this difference play such a negative impact on our American life as well as government?

Answer 1

The ideal is that our government is good and never lies or does anything bad.

I needn't go into the reality in detail.

The result is that Americans cling to their belief that their government is good, in spite of all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. This paralyzes the voting population, and they are unable to throw out the scoundrels they voted into office, because that would reflect badly on THEIR own judgements and choices.

Answer 2

ideals are goals or aims that one proclaim but not necessarily achieved in the reality.
The difference is one is abstract while the other is real. ideal is unreal and often unachievable, whereas reality is just the things that had happened.
I would think one of the ideals will be Manifest Destiny, which means American "mission" to promote and defend democracy throughout the world. However, i do not know how Americans view about this.
Not too sure about the negative impact, but possibly if Americans cannot differentiate ideals from reality (which not only they do, everyone does at one point or another), it will cause them to be too imaginative/unpractical, thus unable to response effectively towards reality.

Answer 3

Ideals is something you wish to happen.... more like a Cinderella dream you wish would one day happen to you.

But then in reality you know your Cinderella dream will never happen and instead a broken heart will come.

Your basically dreaming and then realizing what will actually happen.