Although Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic nomination to Hilary Clinton (ASSUMED), he has done more than just run for president; he has started a revolution in which people have decided enough is enough and that the only way to be the greatest country in the world is to invest in its people. While President Obama, in a recent commencement speech, told students to participate and vote regardless of the system is broken. Sanders has constantly spoken out about the broken systems in America and has quite clearly offered simple and doable solutions, among other great solutions for our country. Here are the top five things Bernie's campaign has exposed about America:
(Broken) Justice System
With over 2.2 million in America currently imprisoned and a system where people of color, mostly black, are constantly racially profiled and have a higher chance to get arrested for whatever crime than a white person, it is clear that Bernie Sanders has exposed how unfair, unjust and racist the American justice system is. I want to emphasize the point that we have 2.2 million people currently in prison that's more people than the population of Greenland, British Virgin Island and Vatican City Combined. On his campaign website, Bernie Sanders states that, “It is clear to most Americans that we need major reforms in our broken criminal justice system.” He continues to point out that, “We need to end the tragic reality that the United States has more people in jail than any other country on earth, and that the people being incarcerated are disproportionately black and Hispanic."
Campaign Financing
Bernie Sanders has been one of the most popular candidate of the 2016 Presidential election, bringing in new voters including the youth and even having the highest amount of donors, but still not able to clinch the democratic nomination. Why is that? Super PACS and the establishment. One billion dollars! That's the amount spent by this year's presidential candidates in the 2016 presidential race through March, that's according to a Center for Public Integrity review of federal campaign finance filings. Bernie Sanders has proven truly that he is the candidate for the people by being the only candidate not accepting super PACS and having his campaign 100 percent funded by regular people including teachers, nurses and students. Super PACS have been able to give money for candidates if they do or say what they want them to do or say and that right there is corruption. How can a person running for president or any other public office listen to anyone's else interest but the people who she/he will be serving?
Climate Change
Unlike the republican presumptive nominee for president, who believes climate change is a "hoax" invented by the Chinese, Bernie Sanders is one of the more than 70 percent Americans who believe that climate change is a problem. Sanders argues that shifting global temperatures and the past significantly warm weather we had are a significant threat and is caused by human activity. He has sponsored a bill which would charge companies for their carbon emission and use some of the money raised to boost renewable energy technology. It just makes sense! We already have a charge on cigarettes and now even soda so why not pollution?
Priorities
When Bernie Sanders came out and said his proposals of free public tuition and universal healthcare, I was shocked! For the first time since FDR there was actually a politician that truly cared for the well being off American citizens and that right there was what made Bernie Sanders a popular candidate for progressives and anyone with sense. Bernie Sanders proposals revealed how "progressive" the Democrat party is (hint: it's not that progressive). Bernie Sanders constantly argued and defended his proposals and no other Republican or Democratic agreed with him and this is what made me really mad at all this politician's who claim they are fighting for us but spend money on wars and other unnecessary things or things that don't benefit the average American citizen.
(Democratic) Socialism
Socialism is an economic system in which property is held in common and not individually, and relationships and business decisions are governed by a political hierarchy. In other words, your boss wouldn't just be able to make the rules but you would have a say, too. Even though common ownership doesn't mean decisions are made collectively, however. Instead, individuals in positions of authority make decisions in the name of the collective group. People often confuse socialism with communism. Even though they might share some similarities, the primary difference between the two is that socialism applies to economic systems, whereas communism applies to both economic and political systems. There is so much more Bernie Sanders has said and revealed about socialism and why our current economic system (Capitalism) is bad for this country. For a more detailed report on Democratic socialism according to the man himself, check out his website.
As of this day, Bernie Sanders has been the only candidate that has truly proven to be a leader because he has shown honesty, integrity, has been enthusiastic about his campaign, and functioned in an orderly and purposeful manner. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances (Fraud election and voting restrictions), Bernie Sanders only has a slight chance of becoming president and his only hope is super delegates, who will be voting in the Democratic National Convention on July 16 in Philadelphia. Remember, whether who you'd like to vote for makes it or not, get out there and vote, vote, vote!