Reflections on Bernie Sanders

I have always had a great deal of respect for Bernie Sanders — the independent from Vermont. But I have lost some of that respect in the waning months of the primary process. His message was a good message, but the more threatened he became the more aggressively he tore into Clinton. That was not his “message” just raw ego and politics.Now that the California primary is over and Clinton has possession of more delegates than she needs, Bernie should do everything he can to unify the party and help to defeat Trump. Instead, he seems bound and determined to press onward with his campaign no matter what the consequences might be. But why should he care about the Democratic Party; he’s not really a Democrat anyway.

Bernie wants a revolution in this country, quite literally. And that is a good thing; we need a real revolution. But I do not believe a revolution will happen by just electing a Bernie-character as President. First and foremost, the President just is not that powerful. Secondly, you have to have a supportive Congress. But there is a far deeper issue resisting revolution and that is the american people themselves. The division between right and left is deeper than ever and it is becoming violent. There will be no significant revolution until the people are more unified.Bernie or no Bernie.

I believe in Bernie’s revolution —- getting money out of politics and out of government, getting real health care for everyone, funding education widely, elevating economic conditions for all and taming the ultra rich. And I would add to this making corporations responsible to our nation instead of taking advantage of “globalization” to escape responsibility, re-building our infrastructure, and giving our people work that can make them proud.

But the issue is convincing Americans that these are good ideas and attainable strategies. That is a really tough problem the way many Americans think today. Bernie can’t solve that problem, nor can Hillary. But Bernie has done one great thing; he has ignited the younger generations who may be able to advance these issues in the future if only they will hold to their convictions.