There are many ways to protest injustice and to showcase unfairness. Some do it with words and actions--and others through music. Our Bernie supporters this week share their ideas of how you can make a difference in bringing about Bernie Sanders' political revolution.
Let's Strike!
by Sam Franklin
Bernie wants a political revolution but how do we revolt? We can’t take up arms or just throw the bums out.
We can
protest, but protests rarely seem to produce positive change. Egyptians protested, and their government is no better. Syrians
protested and got killed or became refugees. Remember Occupy Wall
Street? People get tired of protesting, and they can turn violent.
How about
voting the bad guys out of office? The Republicans have gerrymandered
districts so successfully the crazies in the Congress are supported by
crazies at home. They are not likely to be voted out of office, and if
they stay in office, they will continue to block any progress toward
justice and equality.
Petitions are
popular nowadays. However, do you think our Congress members pay attention to our
signatures? Like Bernie says they rather listen to the lobbyists and the
wealthy, not to us.
I remember
many years ago when Lech Walesa, a dock worker, founded Poland’s first
trade union--Solidarity. Walesa won a Nobel Peace Prize and eventually
became the President of Poland. He did it with a strike.
Bernie is
turning out thousands at rallies all over the country, and they will
continue to turn out, at least for a while. Suppose, just suppose, these well
meaning people picked one day in December or January to stay home from
work. That’s all--just stay home. You don’t have to carry a sign or go
to Washington or even go out of the house. It’s not inconvenient; it’s not dangerous. Some may even want to take to the streets peacefully to
call attention to the strike.
If millions participated in a peaceful
workers' strike, it might stir the pot. It just might lead to negotiations
and meaningful change. If teachers didn’t go to school and grocers
didn’t stock the shelves and gas stations didn’t open up and mail
carriers "got sick"’ and airplanes didn’t fly... Congress might listen.
And if they didn’t, then on the first of the next month the strike would
reoccur. And if that didn’t work, then in two weeks another strike might
go down and then another two weeks after that... Eventually the people might
be heard, like they were so many years ago in Poland.
Bio: Sam Franklin describes himself as "an old retired professor, grandpa, author, and friend of fairness."
A Socially Relevant EP
by Tim Nordstrom, LCSW, CCM
The
purpose of this album is to support Bernie Sanders by encouraging the
questioning of authority and helping to engage citizens in critical
thinking about changing our society so that it benefits all
individuals.
I
have been a social worker for 20 years. The majority of the people
that I have worked with cannot compete in this economy, and so they live
in some form of poverty. The vast majority of these people suffer from
PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Psychotic
Disorder, Alcohol and drug dependency, etc. Sexual abuse as a child can
change one's life forever, and it happens much more often in these
environments. Witnessing domestic violence and being tormented by
verbal/emotional abuse can stop positive growth in it’s tracks, and it
happens much more often in impoverished environments than in middle and
upper class environments. Now, not only do they fight the battle of
their living environment, they fight the battle of mental illness. The
unstable and volatile environment of poverty can leave a person
struggling with a mental illness, rendering them incapable of moving
forward in a positive direction. These are the things that create our
domestic wounded warriors. I use the term “wounded warriors” because it
is a constant battle, a struggle every-single-day, and they don’t get
the same empathetic messages that our soldiers get.
Continuing
our laissez-faire mentality with respect to capitalism will only
perpetuate victim blaming and further decrease the amount of empathy we
as a nation have for these men, women and children. These are the
people most adversely effected by greed. The middle class is shrinking. Where is it going? What is happening to them? PTSD, Major
Depressive Disorder, Psychotic Disorder, Alcohol and Drug dependency….
I
have never lived in poverty, but I try to imagine what it would be
like. I have had the opportunity to work in shelters, day treatment
facilities, and extremely low socioeconomic communities, and I will
never fully understand. I do know this: judging others and electing our
leaders based purely on our own past experiences and current
perspectives is wrong. We have to become more empathetic as a nation.
We have to bleed the greed.
Free up the money! I would like to make this music free to all who want to let it motivate their passion for this movement. Proceeds from the sale of the full CD will go to the Bernie Sanders campaign: timnordstrom.com
Bio: Tim Nordstrom is a native Montanan, who has lived in Denver Colorado and
Nashville Tennessee working in the field of social work, all the while
writing and performing his music. Tim has worked with Grammy-winning
producers, instrumentalists and is often heard on NPR.
Here's an insight into recent events concerning the recent Democratic Debate.
It Doesn't Matter
by George Oeser
I am afraid that what I am about to write will upset a lot of people, but I think it needs to be said.
It
doesn't matter if Bernie won the debate or not. The pundits said he
didn't, but pundits aren't terribly reliable. The online polls said he
did, but they are terribly unreliable. The people who answer the
questions in online polls tend to be the people that are most passionate
about the questions being asked. Guess what? Sanders supporters are
more passionate than Clinton supporters, and so we participated in the
polls in larger numbers. This shows that the online polls are
meaningless.
Of course complaining about what the pundits said is also
meaningless, at best. It could actually be harmful to Bernie as many
will see the onslaught of complaints peppering social media as an
indication that Bernie supporters are sore losers or conspiracy nuts.
This doesn't just make us look bad, it makes Bernie look bad as well.
Bernie's
support is growing, but he is still an underdog, and so we need to help
him keep gaining supporters. There are tons of democrats out there who
like his ideas and policies but who won't for him because they think he
isn't electable. Instead of telling them that he won the debate, tell
them about all of the elections he has won while facing extremely tough
opponents. Some say they won't vote for him because they don't think he
will be able to accomplish much as president. They don't need to hear
how the media isn't giving Bernie enough coverage, they need to hear
about the times he has worked with political opponents to get things
done.
Bernie is currently lacking in support from African-Americans.
Maybe instead of seeing us post over and over about a plot against
Bernie we should tell them about Bernie's civil rights work, or how Dr.
Cornel West is a Sanders supporter, or maybe we should mention that
Bernie was the only candidate in the debate who said that black lives do
matter and who promised to fight institutional racism.
The
Sanders campaign is positive and talks about the issues facing America.
Even though we may not have signed up as official volunteers, every time
we post about Bernie on Facebook or tweet about him we are acting as
the face of Bernie Sanders' campaign for the presidency. Bernie's
positive, issue-oriented campaign is undercut when we stray from the
real issues or go negative and so we have to try and remember to not let
our emotions get the best of us in public. This isn't just a campaign,
it is a movement, and we are all part of it, almost as much as Senator
Sanders himself. Let's stay on track and help make Bernie Sanders the
next president of the United States!
Bio: George Oeser is a photographer, born and raised in Tennessee but
currently living in the Netherlands. He spends much of his time thinking
about how much he misses good Southern food.
