Re voting their own interests -- I'm hearing that phrase a lot, and wondering, where did it come from? Who first promoted it? Who made it a meme?

You're drawing a binary between extremes, and painting progressives as if we want socialism, riots, and handouts. This is not true, and I'd like to discuss it with you further if you're interested. But first, I'm seriously wondering -- when did voting one's own interest supplant voting for what one understood to be best for one's community and country? And who is promoting this idea?

I'm old enough to remember JFK, who said "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. Back then, these words were stirring ideals. Now, some people would call it socialism. What happened?