Dear Bernie Or Bust
As the Democratic Primary comes to a close, the Bernie or Bust movement comes to the realization that they must enforce the latter or abandon their platform and head to the voting booths. This article attempts to briefly address the frustration and concerns of the movement and urges them to recognize the importance of voting in this upcoming election.
Dear Bernie or Bust
Dear Bernie or Bust
Russell Hartley
I know some of us had high hopes that Bernie would fare better at this point and somehow find a way to clinch the Democratic nomination, but it’s become evident that we will now have to ease ourselves into the idea that we may be voting for someone else in November.
But for a brief moment, I’m going to speak directly to my fellow Bernie supporters and ask that we all temporarily put our emotions aside. We have to understand that although many of us support Bernie based off his ideas, principals, and stances on very key issues, we all at one point heard some of our own voices come out of his mouth. Even with a campaign that has set out to be “all about the issues”, it is almost inevitable that his supporters feel some sort of emotional connection to the candidate. It happens with every election. It happens with every candidate. We see some of ourselves in those we support, and it hurts that much more if and when their campaigns finally come to a disappointing end.
But the impact of his campaign is about much more than a Bernie Sanders ticket in the general election. We all learned a lot about the primary election process over the past few months, and we’ve all seen how seemingly undemocratic many of its aspects are. Mostly being the use of super delegates that were used to persuade voters that their votes for Bernie may have appeared less significant than they actually were. But most of all, the fact that Hillary was awarded delegates not only before many state’s primaries, but that she had the pledged support of over one hundred delegates before Bernie even announced he was running.
As undemocratic as all of that seems, it is just as undemocratic for those under the “Bernie or Bust” movement (or any disengaged voters) to refuse to vote in this year’s general election. To turn our back on the election is to allow someone like Donald Trump to become the President of the United States. And you owe it to yourself, those you love, and the future generations to do what is in your power to never allow that to become a reality.
For those who follow the ideas and words of Bernie Sanders, then don’t stop listening. Many Bernie supporters were furious at the media for not paying attention to Sanders until they realized he had a realistic chance at becoming President. Now that his chances have been diminished, don’t follow the lead of the media and mute his message; he’s still talking. If you listen to what Bernie is saying now, you would know that he is urging his supporters to vote against Trump, and he is emphasizing the importance of this almost on a daily basis. If you’re a true supporter of Bernie Sanders, then realize that this fight…our fight doesn’t end with his campaign. Bernie has never validated the Bernie or Bust movement and his wife has spoken out against it.
I know that those who we elect to “represent us” rarely ever represent anyone but those who fund their campaigns. But voting has never truly been about voting for someone who reflects each and every one of our own values. As much as we want to believe in this illusion, we would never actually vote for anyone besides ourselves to represent us, because no one else can. Voting has always been about voting for the best candidate given limited choices. That system may be inherently flawed, but we must stop believing this fantasy that we could vote for anyone to truly represent us to a 'T'. We all have unique life experiences, and therefore we all have different perspectives on the world. As much as I see myself in Bernie Sanders, I also know that there is at least one aspect of his policies that I may see differently. I get it, to some of us the seemingly limited choices of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may sound nauseating, but make no mistake, one candidate is quite different than the other, and each candidate would pull us in a completely different direction.
Maybe instead of trying to convince you that your vote matters, let’s instead look at the warrant of the refusal to participate. As upset as we might feel with how some government officials have all but muted our voice, we have to understand this cold truth. Our silent rebellion will not contribute to a solution. Our defiance will send no immediate message and our reluctance to engage will only worsen the situation. The establishment will not kowtow to our refusal and all we will do is make it easier for their handpicked nominees to get elected. Nothing will change because of our disengagement. I can promise you that. If we all turned our backs on the political process, then the Bernie campaign would have been a short lived and rather insignificant one. If you are desparate (as am I) to make your voice heard, then voting is the best way to do that in a tangible way, where the establishment can actually measure what direction you want this country to move towards.
It was hope that through political participation validated the progressive ideals propelled by the Sanders campaign and prompted a national discussion on issues such as income inequality and the democracy in question when it came to the electoral process. Because we acted on our hope and not our cynicism, we started a movement that will only pick up steam the more we become involved in the political process. An individual can only do so much, but it is movements that can be a catalyst to real change.
Many of us stopped paying so much attention to the election after Bernie’s chances turned bleak, but there is clear evidence that the affects of the political revolution have made its way into proposed policy. The Democratic Party has adopted some of the very same ideas that Bernie pushed through the campaign trail over the previous months. They now overtly support a $15 an hour minimum wage effort, a push for free public higher education for families with income of up to $125,000 a year (83% of Americans), a path to legalize marijuana and several other amendments concerning income inequality, reduced military spending and protection against bad trade deals (i.e. TPP). This whole idea of a political revolution may not have reached its full impact, but it is clear that it has started to reshape the party that will likely continue its control of the oval office. What I’m trying to say is that our fight wasn’t to get an individual into office, but his ideas. And I think we’ve set the framework for a more liberal party, country and Hillary Clinton to continue Sander’s work. We can look to any civil rights and civil liberties movements as proof that coalitions have the ability to change policy. But persistence can only be defeated by pessimism.
If you want to peacefully protest, then protest. If you want to express your dissatisfaction with politics in general, then express away. But vote. Instead of refusing to vote to express our anger with the election process, let's vote to express our refusal to allow principals based on bigotry and fear-mongering to reach the White House. Just because our government has failed to live up to our democratic standards, doesn’t mean that we should be entitled to do the same.
If as a country we complain (and maybe justifiably so) that we have little to no influence over our government, we will not increase the extent of our political impact by squandering the power that we currently hold. Our silence and inaction is self-defeating. No one will listen to us just because we decide to stop talking. We are the people. And we only lose all of our power when we allow them to convince us that we don’t matter.