The following is a paper I wrote a few days after a Bernie Sanders rally I went to. Though Bernie is no longer an eligible candidate, I would like to present this as a list of reasons as to why we should still aim to incorporate the core ideas of Bernie's campaign into our societal values.
Recently, I took a day off to attend the Bernie Sanders rally in Raleigh. It was hardly a difficult decision, as, to quote what I said to my mom, "I like Bernie more than I like adult responsibilities." In fact, my mom came home before I even had a chance to mention it, encouraging her ‘little political activist’ to go, giving her full endorsement. I cannot stress enough how proud of myself I am that she deems me worthy of that title.
Since July of 2015, just a few months after Bernie officially announced that he was running for president, I have been following his individual platform. Let me make it clear that I have never identified as a democratic socialist. To that end, I have never identified as anything. When looking at party platforms, about the only thing that is clear is that I am not a Republican. I have pro-choice beliefs, support same-sex marriage and rights for the entire LGBTAQ community beyond just this legal union, support gun control, and have no opinion on the immigration issue. These are just the main issues that people think of when they are asked to identify strong stances of the Republican Party. My views differ in plenty of other areas, as well, and they certainly align more closely with the Democratic Party. However, the only reason I registered to vote as a Democrat when I filled out the form was to avoid any potential mishaps that could come from being registered as an Independent, as I had my heart set on voting for Bernie Sanders. (While North Carolina technically allows Independents to choose the ballot they like when they show up to the polls, there have been recent cases of these voters being turned away and their protests to this requiring a verification call to the Board of Elections. No, thanks.)
Bernie has been criticized for the identifier that he uses. To be frank, Americans fear the word socialism. If you listen closely, you can hear the masses crying out in support of that sentence. ‘But this is America!’ they cry. ‘We are a capitalist country, we don’t need socialism!’ To go even further with this declaration, one only has to look at former presidential hopeful Marco Rubio’s words regarding Bernie. “I think Bernie Sanders would be a great president- of Sweden. We don’t want to be Sweden, we want to be the United States of America.’ Well, Little Marco, Sweden has a stronger labor force, an extremely low poverty rate, and equally low income inequality when compared to the U.S., but I doubt you were thinking about that when you made the statement. Sweden is ranked 3rd out of 177 countries in Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, as well, praised for its anti-corruption measures. I digress. The US already has socialist programs that are paid for by taxpayer dollars. Higher taxes proposed under his plans would impact those who make $250,000 or more, primarily.
I will paraphrase the man himself when speaking to his critics. I filmed several moments during the rally that really spoke to me. One of the ones that stood out was his mocking an identifier that was given to him rather than taken on himself. “What a radical idea that we should have a living wage!” Bernie declared, to the cheers of the audience of thousands. “What a radical idea that…” He proceeded to go on to list the things he stands for. Health care as a right rather than a privilege, abolition of institutionalized racism, treatment of women as equals rather than second-class citizens, human rights for all, and more. What Bernie means by human rights for all is really human rights for all citizens, not just the ideal man of the Founding Fathers; white, male, wealthy, well-educated, among the political elite, and with copious connections to oft-corrupt political systems. “The truth is,” he went on to say, “These are not radical ideas.” He is right, too, assuming that one is an individual with possession of both basic human decency and a functioning sense of compassion. When another unarmed black man is shot and killed by police, we should not feel a sense of detachment due to how commonplace it has become. We should not have to settle for women getting lowered pay for the same job done by a man. It should not be a taboo notion to allow LGBTAQ citizens to get married, have gender reassignment surgery, enjoy civil protections and live the same life as a heterosexual couple. One of the classes of Republicans that we have learned about is the evangelical Christian. This is a group of people that often quotes the Bible to justify their opposition to all of the things above. Though it is primarily referenced to justify aversion to the LGBTAQ community, saying it is against God’s will and unnatural, I see plenty of evangelicals hiding behind their religion to claim that yes, they really are a good person; this is simply because they are a Christian, even though they may be racist, sexist, homophobic, privileged and ignorant. I do not condemn Christians with this statement; to make a blanket statement like that would be ridiculous. Bernie’s movement is about attacking the core belief that discrimination against a minority is okay because it can somehow be justified. I believe evangelicals forget the main principle of the Bible- God wants his followers to love everyone, just as he and his son would.
Bernie is a very energetic speaker. Watching him, it is difficult not to have a reaction to the things he is saying, be it positive or negative. He radiates sincerity when he speaks, which is rare for a politician. I cannot fathom someone who did not believe what they were saying working themselves up to that degree just to spout things that are directly against their beliefs. This is not just a case of him speaking what he believes the public wants to hear. Some of the public does not want to hear this, but he has no interest in making himself more moderate to draw in votes. He has not just taken on these opinions in recent times, either. The man has been campaigning for all these things and more since his twenties. Now, at the age of 74, he is trying to get the support of the American people.
Between the media portraying Bernie as a loser and the surrounding community- aka Harnett County- being staunchly Republican, I am constantly bombarded with messages that I should give up on him. I refuse to do that. This man stands for everything I stand for, and I will not just let that go by the wayside. Whether or not he wins the nomination, his supporters will keep fighting. I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to see history in action.
