Let’s be clear. Nothing about what I’m about to write is intended to start a twitter war or troll battle. This is for the expressed intent of clarifying what the issues are that Bernie Sanders represents, along with a short history lesson. And oh how our memories are short.
First, Let’s talk about education. Specifically, I’m referring to tuition-free public colleges and universities. Until 1966–67, did you know that most public colleges and universities in America was in fact tuition free? This was handled at the state level, not federal. Although, the federal government was responsible for the dollars that paid for it. You see, every state had the option of providing a tuition-free education to their students. The money came from the federal government. Where did the money come from? Why it came from a corporate speculation tax. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Bernie has been preaching this since the start of his campaign and it’s become a huge source of aggravation for me that this goes ignored.
Your next question might be, so how or why did it stop? This is where the answer gets a little more revealing about both our government, and my reasoning as to why you should vote for Bernie Sanders. In a word, this stopped because simple racism. History tells us that it was far more government-regulated reasons than that. The secretary of education, along with then-President Nixon had removed the subsidies from the federal budget. That’s the high level. At the low level, the reason they had done this was because (publically) there were too many protests, demonstrations, etc… on college campuses. But if you break down the demographics, taking away public money from public institutions would clearly affect the African-American and other minorities way harder than it would white students.
So to break it down for you, I just gave you two stances that Bernie Sanders takes in education and civil rights. He wants to re-institute a speculation tax on Wall Street (which by the way is under 1%) that worked in the past and can work again. Bernie Sanders has never wavered in his beliefs, he’s never flip-flopped on the issues that affect the American people adversely and he stands by his beliefs and morals that prove he is a candidate of and for the people.
My next point is regarding Tea Party (ish) Trump supporters who love to throw around the word “Socialism” and of corse, the ever friendly word “Communism”. This is not going to be a popular statement but I’m going to say it anyway. If you’re now or ever have been in the US Military in any branch, taking advantage of healthcare from our government, guess what? You’re a bigger socialist than Bernie Sanders is. Did your parents take advantage of Social Security? Them too. You see, Bernie identifies himself as a “Democratic Socialist”, and nothing more. The socialism he refers to is a basic issue of humanity. Doing what is right. Nobody should have to die because they couldn’t afford their next month supply of metformin. As a soldier or veteran, you are afforded that basic right, as you should. But when statements are made like “I fought for your rights”, why shouldn’t that include our right to basic healthcare too? If you’re fighting for our rights and freedoms, you don’t get to pick and choose what rights and freedoms you’re fighting for.
Speaking of veterans, instead of blindly ignoring Bernie Sanders stances on the real issues because you don’t like the word “Democratic Socialist”, please actually take some time to read up just a little bit (if nothing else) on his stance on our Veterans. If you are able to step outside your unwarranted misguidance on the man you will find (as I and many other have) that there is no other candidate out there who will fight for the well-being of our brave soldiers and veterans. This is a fact, not an emotional statement.
2nd amendment issues? Please. I have YET to hear a GOP candidate speak as honestly and forthright about their stances here. Bernie Sanders message is clear and definitely not the most popular within the Democratic party, but his stance is clear, fair and has not waivered.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I implore you… I beg you. Think hard about the candidate you choose to back. If you’re voting against a candidate because you can’t vote FOR a candidate then you are not being a responsible and educated voter. If you’ve read all about Sanders with an open mind and still you don’t want to vote for him? Then at least you can say you’re voting for the candidate you feel best about and the democratic process is still working. But at the end of the day, we cannot afford a hindsight candidate like Hillary. Hindsight… You know, we have the chance right now to avoid collectively saying as a country “What have we done”!!! Now is the time to open yourselves up to the message that Bernie is spreading, because he’s honest. He’s trustworthy and he’s loyal to us. His constituents, his voters and most importantly, his people. Bernie is beholden to all of us, not Wall Street, not big money donors. Bernie has a proven history, which is most of his adult life, fighting for these issues. Not Hillary.
