I would submit one piece of evidence of why I trust Senator Bernie Sanders. He calls himself a democratic socialist. He could have, for the sake of his “electability” shed himself of that label at any point. In fact he goes further, he defends the label and ties it to historical figures like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., and Helen Keller. He proudly stands by a label that media consensus says hurts his electability. It’s the word that might keep Claire McCaskill on edge.
Interview after interview, debate after debate, he is asked the question about what his democratic socialism means. I believe the most comprehensive answer he’s given was when he said it was a belief in “economic rights.” I can give him a pass in not getting into high level political theory stuff in a context where he’s trying to make an argument about how he’s going to impact people’s lives. Such things don’t have quite the urgency of actual issues when on the trail.
So if he’s going to consistently defend this political belief that the media consensus says hurts him, then he must surely hold those beliefs with some regard. When I read what democratic socialists are for and the vision they have for humanity I feel that such ideas should be shared. Now consider the source, they are actually socialists, but it is important to listen to the voices of those that are detractors to the status quo, in my view. I am not suggesting that Bernie gets his views from this site or that this site reflects his personal views, however, I do not believe such statements should elicit strong negative reaction. I really want to hone in on one small piece of the big picture.
So what is the ultimate goal of democratic socialism?
Democratic socialism is an international movement for freedom, social justice and solidarity. Its goal is to achieve a peaceful world where these basic values can be enhanced and where each individual can live a meaningful life with the full development of his or her personality and talents and with the guarantee of human and civil rights in a democratic framework of society.
When I stop and think of this statement my mind explodes with visions of an impossible world. It seems impossible because the values we normalize today don’t allow for this kind of world. When I try and imagine the conditions possible for such a world where every human being can develop themselves as according to their own natural tendencies, talents, and abilities, it would appear that no configuration of policies or laws could ever allow for such a world.
I do not believe I’m alone for a longing of a world like this. Bad Religion, a band I’ve grown up with, wrote in their song “Sorrow:”
Will you guide me now for I can't see a reason
for the suffering and this long misery
What if every living soul could be upright and strong?
We are far from such an ideal. We exist in a world where just last December a woman was denied medical care, a blood clot in her lung, and died handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser because of the color of her skin. One horror in a world of horrors set up by fundamentally flawed human decisions. The indignities faced by the most oppressed and marginalized is a condemnation of the nation as a whole, because everybody knows that the tree bears fruit and you know the tree by its fruit.
We exist in a world that is shattering heat records month after month, our CO2 levels above 400ppm, probably for the rest of humanity’s time on the planet. This is a grave injustice that will impact the lives of over 7 billion people. Soon we will experience climate migrants within our own borders, and those outside our borders. Soon we will face a world roiling in conflict and dispute because we that consumed the most won’t adequately help those impacted the most, namely those exploited for that consumption.
We exist in a world where the tendrils of US military actions snake into every corner of the globe. The methods we use to exact violence upon enemies abroad we import as tactics domestically. Those tactics are used mostly against the most marginalized and oppressed people among us.
We either become a mirror of the beasts we let loose politically or we tame them into a mirror of our own true values. I don’t like the image I’m seeing. We need to change the reflection we project to the world.
If Bernie Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist and stands by it, and this is close to anything he holds as his political values, then I trust him. I trust that he is as horrified by the perils of our world, both domestic and international, and understands that the root of the problem are those with bad values controlling institutions of power. I trust that he understands that the only legitimate way to defeat greed and corruption is through mass democratic action.
When I envision a President Sanders it’s a President that gets up and he wants to know two things: who’s screwing the little guy and how do we stop them. I see a President who is in solidarity with the movements on the ground, who would picket with them. I see a President who realizes a life here in the US is as precious as a life in Palestine, Iran, Chile, or Honduras and that their democratic will is to be respected as sacred as our own democratic will is.
We need a break from what’s been screwing people over. Why have right-wing forces marched and have been unable to be beat back by centrist Democrats? Why is it student debt is out of control, people die from illness, and we have homeless vets on the streets? How is it we can spend $1.5 trillion on a fighter jet we don’t even need, yet when it comes to healthcare as a right we are bombarded with questions of affordability?
I trust Sanders to stand with me every day he’s in office to the best of his ability. I can’t see any other candidate having that at the core of not just their political views, but their moral fiber. He embraced democratic socialism and defends it, and much to the chagrin of detractors, he stands by it and stands tall. He’s a leader. He’s hope to drastically change the US stance in the world.
I leave with a question: what is the national priority of the US? I can’t see it. But if our national priority is to truly help every human reach full development according to their own being and talents, then there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. After all, it’s not Sanders, it’s all of us.