Remember Hope and Change? The concept reemerged from its political chrysalis back in the early days of the 1st Obama campaign when people realized there was an opportunity to do something visually different. The other party responded to it with traditional fear tactics and open mockery, treating those concepts as if they were as alien and awful as peeling the skin back from Charlie Brown’s face simply to see what lies beneath.
Well, that guy won. It was enough of a simple action to convince people they did something–vote for the black guy and we are making a statement. Yet it was so far removed from affecting their daily lives in any negative way that there was next to no risk. I mean, consider the alternative. 4 years later we all did it again, this time in that new classic ‘why not let him finish?’ mode that kept Bush in power for 8 years.
President Obama did bring hope and did bring change. There are a plethora of incredible things the Obama administration did, especially early in the reign when Rahm Emmanuel was roaming the White House with a crowbar and a bad attitude. We tend to focus on the failures of universal health care (since politically and stupidly dubbed Obamacare, though the plan was originally a Clinton-hatched design based on bipartisan research) and ignore the good stuff. Moreover, we tend to ignore the people who did stand up longer than it took to vote and actually got involved and decided to be that change and remain that hope.
The other day my friend Billy asked me how I thought about people standing up for Bernie Sanders. The question was more specific than that, but what I got out of it was the idea that I ought to write a 10 minute blog about what it means to stand up for Sanders and how doing so would be received in the current political climate. Then, yesterday, I saw a post on facebook reminding people that Hitler too was a socialist libertarian. First of all, lets not pretend that Hitler and Sanders need be connected in any way. Lets also not pretend that ones political affiliation automatically aligns someone with another person who shares that affiliation. Hell, most KKK members are republicans-which means absolutely nothing.
Subscribing to the doctrines of Karl Marx is one of those things that is convenient when useful, and not indcative of any desire to sig heil or take over anything larger than the best spot on the couch and quite possibly the Directv remote.
No, I’m talking about people deciding that they care more about these ideas than the political nonsense attached to them. So, to answer I say, ‘YES’ go work for Bernie. Be an educated man and learn more about the dudes ideas and ideology. Find out how socialism could be of value to certain facets of America instead of hissing and recoiling at the mere mention.
Do these things that make us proud to be here, and you will be rewarded.