Never Lose your Sense of Outrage

It is interesting to see all the varying responses to Bernie’s endorsement. Hillary supporters are obviously rejoicing, but reactions are a lot more split among Sanders supporters. Some are branding him as a traitor to his own movement, while others remain disappointed yet cognizant of the enormous political pressure that Sanders likely faced. Regardless of your opinion, I am not entirely sure why anyone is particular surprised. He said he would do everything in his power to support the Democratic nominee if there was eventually mutual agreement that the platform needed to be moved further left (which happened). He also said that he would do everything in his power to defeat Donald Trump. This is day one stuff. He held out on conceding in order to have political leverage and in order to maintain a focus on the issues, and he succeeded in doing so.

While it’s clear that it is quite hypocritical to endorse arguably the most establishment person in modern political history, and that it is incredibly difficult to believe that most of the new progressive platform will be actively pursued and that Hillary Clinton will not flip flop on crucial policy like the TPP, especially considering that disavowing the TPP did not pass during the platform process — it was nonetheless obvious that this day would come. Perhaps it came earlier than expected, as he did proclaim that the campaign would thrive onward until the convention, but it is not worth vilifying Bernie for “failing” to uphold that end of his statement.

The Political revolution is about so much more than electing one particular person to the presidency. Nobody expected Sanders to gain significant traction, especially to the point of winning 22 something states and 1900 delegates, while initially beginning at less than 6–7% in the polls. In doing so, Sanders has lit a political spark that is essential in retaking our democracy. He has selflessly inspired more than 20,000 people in America to run for political office; this is truly something that someone does who is genuinely concerned with the future of the country. He has done an even more masterful job of attracting the youth to an extremely progressive agenda than then Senator Barack Obama did in his ’08 campaign, as indicated by his ability to win upwards to 80% of the youth vote. As an assistant organizer in the Bernie Sanders campaign, I was privileged enough to see the profound effect that Sanders presidential campaign had on even the most apathetic of individuals, and the extraordinary energy that a 74 year old democratic-socialist had on the electorate. More than 50k people showed up to Sander’s Oakland rally, not because they admired his youth, or his speeches, or his suave mannerisms. They came because he gave them something to believe in — “A Future to Believe in.”

So now the important question becomes: What will you do? Regardless of whether or not you think Sanders betrayed millions of Americans, who donated and supported him, by supporting a front runner whose disapproval ratings are challenged only by Donald Trump, or if you think he did what was politically necessary to carry on the political revolution, this is a pivotal point in which the thousands of pro-sanders groups across the country — from college clubs, to massive organizations like National Nurses United — must now decide how they will move forward. This is a great area of uncertainty, and I think it is incredibly unfair to ask these groups to unconditionally pledge support to a candidate that they likely despise. But one thing is for sure: the revolution must continue, and it never was and never will be about one individual. There’s a reason Bernie’s slogan was “not me, us.”

Unlike Barack Obama, whose grassroots populism fell to an irrecoverable abyss, Bernie already has said that there will be successor organizations created to permeate the profound message that his campaign has helped reverberate, but there is no revolution without large sums of people coming together. So, will you give up on the spirit of Sander’s revolution because of the choices of one (albeit important) individual? Or will you carry on because you recognize that his message all along is as the aforementioned details? I would encourage the latter

“Never, ever lose your sense of outrage” — Bernie Sanders, presidential candidate, Senator, and genuine human being