Okay see I think the reason to have lofty unachievable goals is so that you always labor toward them and in that laboring you make the world better as you go along. You make compromises. But you have a goal out of reach so you keep reaching for it.
Liberals see the compromise as the goal. That's their lofty aspiration. That's their North Star. They are afraid that if they go for more they'll lose what they got. Or at least that seems to be the nugget of their argument and hesitation.
Problem is we already have a movement that's terrified of change because they don't want to lose what they got. They're called conservatives.
And no amount of the current "conservative" movements pivoting to outright regressive stances or trying to "turn back the clock" will change that. Standing still might look like progress when compared to moving backward. But it isn't progress.
So you tell the next "don't let perfect be the enemy of good" pragmatic liberal naysayer to fuck off.
It's a pretty valid sentiment.
Like when you see a kid fucking around with a rubber band and finally it snaps and it gives them a welt and they cry and cry and because you're a grownup you have to use it as a teachable moment and comfort them.
But in the back of your mind you can't help but think "heh, fuckin dumbass kid, I warned your dumb ass, fucking idiot, you totally deserved that."