Dear “Bernie-or-Bust” Backers,
Why can’t we be friends?
I understand, Bernie put forward several unrelentingly liberal ideas that the whole nation would benefit from. These proposed policies and Sanders’ general attitudes about politics and the American political system have the potential to start a political revolution in the United States that is perhaps long overdue. Even though Bernie did not ultimately win the nomination, he pushed the Democratic Party and the nation’s agenda further to the left, something that will not die due to his failure to win the nomination … unless of course we elect Donald Trump. Bernie himself said that the only way to finish what he and his supporters have started is to elect Hillary Clinton.
At the DNC on Monday, Sarah Silverman said that Bernie-or-Bust supporters are being ridiculous and quite frankly, I agree with her. The ideas surfacing from this campaign of loyalty to Bernie are progressive yet idealistic and could mean a period of chaos for our nation. If you plan to vote for Trump hoping that his inability to lead our nation will result in a full-fledged national revolution, I urge you to recall that most revolutions are violent and extremely damaging to the infrastructure of the nation. Even in the past few years, attempts to overthrow unjust governments --who should be overthrown-- have led to full-fledged war, national unrest and the loss of many innocent lives. While I do believe our nation is in need of a political revolution, it should be grounded in an ideological revolution, like the one that Senator Sanders has been working towards for his whole career, and not on the hopes that Donald Trump’s un-filtered rhetoric will cause a mass uprising that will bring about change in the United States. Kevin Baker wrote in the New York Times, “no violent political revolution in a major country has ever brought about a better, freer society without intervening years … of dictatorship and slaughter.” Instead he –like Sanders—noted that political change is a slow and arduous process that must be continually pushed forward through small concessions and changes to or government.
Many former Bernie supporters have decided to back Secretary Clinton in the polls this November, but said they plan to hold her accountable to fulfill promises she made to carry out some of the more liberal policies she has backed due to the campaign of Senator Sanders. I believe this is the best way that Sanders’ supporters can continue to push the Democratic Party’s platform to the left without risking the possibility of Mr. Celebrity Apprentice himself becoming the leader of the free world. All politicians should be held accountable to carry out the policies and ideas they proposed as they strove to gain supporters; after all it is these individual political strategies that caused voters to identify with them.
So in the coming months I urge you to continue fighting for a more liberal agenda by holding politicians accountable, but most prominently by doing your part in making sure Donald Trump does not destroy all the reform that has occurred in our nation during Obama’s presidency. Our republic can survive four years of a Clinton presidency; it will not survive four years of Trump.
Sincerely,
Sarah
