Let’s face it; things aren’t looking so good for Bernie right now, but too many people are giving into despair over the presidential race. A reminder of what he’s fighting for and how you can contribute might help to get us back on track.

We all knew that getting Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) in the White House was going to be difficult from the start. Sure, it’s easy to get caught up in the energy when Bernie wins a few states, ramps up his rhetoric, and calls out the injustices we deal with on a daily basis. Watching his righteous indignation tear apart the establishment and neoliberals without giving into the anger we all feel is, truly, a remarkable quality in a leader.

In the back of our minds, though, there was always that lingering thought: “What if he doesn’t win?”

The Deck is Stacked…

The voting results from the last handful of Tuesdays seem to indicate that this is the beginning of the end for Bernie’s run. There’s still hope, of course, but the odds were never in his favor. It’s truly a testament of the corporate media apparatus’ power when it can bring Joe Biden’s dead presidential campaign back to life. 

The infinite amounts of positive air time and countless endorsements from establishment bootlickers turned the tides against Bernie ever since Biden won the South Carolina firewall. Even Andrew Yang, who did a great job at posing as a progressive, endorsed Biden in spite of his promise to back the DNC nominee. This kind of endorsement was expected from other moderates, but seeing it from Yang caught plenty of people off guard.

Warren’s silence has also contributed to Biden’s momentum. While she is undoubtedly a good senator who pushes for progressive policies, her priorities have been made bare for all to see. Her desire to play the politician’s game, whether it be due to career aspirations or ego, has tarnished her reputation as a progressive forever.

The table has always been rigged against those who want real systemic change. 

…But the Fight Lives On

We don’t stop fighting for what’s right just because Bernie’s chances of being nominated are growing slim. The answer to “what if he doesn’t win?” will always be the same: nothing changes. We keep moving left while dragging everyone else with us.

None of this was ever meant to be easy; that doesn’t mean we give up if Bernie should fail. Bernie is just one person, albeit one in a very powerful position. Nonetheless, he’s just a person like you.

Any movement that dies with the downfall of one individual isn’t a movement worth fighting for.

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

As part of a movement, we all have the ability and responsibility to do whatever we can, whenever we can, for as long as we can. Right now, Americans are woefully undereducated about the important parts of history and what’s really happening in the present, let alone anything related to politics. All that we know is whatever our dysfunctional educational system and mainstream media has taught us about politics and the world.

The internet helps to fill in the gaps by drastically improving our access to information, but that’s not enough.

The populace at large is not only missing accurate information, but the proper context for that information as well. All too often does the average American become mesmerized by fluffy sentiments and campaign promises to be abandoned at a more convenient time. For many, telling the difference between fact and fiction is all but impossible.

That’s where we come in — we give them the proper context for what’s happening in the world.

Reaching out to your neighbors, co-workers, friends, and (perhaps most importantly) your family is something any of us can do to help push American in the right direction. There are a few key topics that we, as part of the movement that Bernie started, need to properly inform Americans about with earnestness and grace.

What follows is by no means a comprehensive list of issues nor of 100%-proven strategies to sway someone’s mind, but it’s something get a conversation started that you are in control of.

On Complacency of Politicians

If there’s one thing that the 2020 presidential race has shown even the most passive observer, it’s that most politicians don’t have a spine. They don’t practice what they preach or even stand up for their own campaign slogans. Having Americans from all backgrounds witness the lack of character that comes with touting the “moderate” label isn’t just a disheartening reality — it’s a blessing in disguise. 

The nation has watched every single centrist DNC candidate bow down to the powers that be when push comes to shove. But, don’t ask whoever you’re speaking with to take your word for that claim. The proof is in the pudding.

Each one of these candidates eventually endorsed Biden, even when that went directly against their campaign sentiments or previous statements.

• Kamala Harris called out Biden for aligning with segregationists ever since the first DNC debate.
• Cory Booker, who actually wasn’t terrible on criminal justice issues, said he wouldn’t endorse Biden, who helped created the 1994 crime law bill.
• Beto O’Rourke said that Biden “represents the past and it cannot be where the country is going forward,” yet eventually endorsed Biden. He also decided to stay in the presidential race rather than challenge Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) for his seat, which Beto could have possibly won.
• Pete Buttigieg was always an establishment shill, which he undoubtedly proved by dining with corporate donors instead of immediately addressing South Bend in a critical time when he was mayor. He was deliberately opaque with his policy positions and when addressing campaign controversies.
• Amy Klobuchar never had a chance to win the nomination and only stayed in the race for political clout and to contribute to the appearance of a “competitive” presidential race. Both her and Buttigieg received unlimited amounts of MSM praise with very little pushback in all of the debates. They both endorsed Biden just before Super Tuesday.
• Michael Bloomberg tried to buy his way to the White House after spending $500 million on his campaign. After failing to perform on Super Tuesday, he also endorsed Biden.
• Andrew Yang, who is ultimately a liberal capitalist at heart, was set on endorsing the DNC nominee, even when he was mistreated by MSM from the very start. He endorsed Biden while on air with CNN’s commentary panel covering Super Tuesday 2.
• All of the other dropouts, save for Marianne Williamson, eventually endorsed Biden.
• Elizabeth Warren, the only exception, has not endorsed anyone to date and possibly never will until Bernie drops out. As a progressive she was Bernie’s closest ally in the race, yet Warren prioritizes climbing the political ladder over contributing to the progressive movement when the stakes are high.

At the end of the day, these “moderates” don’t have the courage to follow through with their purported convictions. The ultimate price to pay for centrists and moderates is to give into the interests of the establishment. Whether it be by choice or by being beaten into submission, propping up the status quo does nothing to further the interests of the working class.

This is easily demonstrated by looking at these moderates’ voting records. Klobuchar voted for half of the conservative federal judges fast-tracked by Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over the last three years. Biden has consistently advocated for cutting all government programs, including social security and Medicare. He openly admitted to this in the 90s even though he currently tries to double back while on the campaign trail.

None of the fluffy sentiments and campaign promises in the world matter unless they’re backed by someone with a consistent track record of standing up for those things — that’s what made Bernie Sanders so remarkable and made him stand out from the crowd.

On the Government’s Failure to Address a Pandemic

The government’s anemic response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the inability of many Americans to effectively support themselves during this crisis cannot be pinned on the individual. It is the monumental failure of our institutions to adequately provide for us when they take so much away to begin with. 

The fact that our government is struggling to follow through with free testing, treatment, and future vaccines for every civilian reveals its true priorities: catering to the corporate interests that have bought out our institutions of democracy.

We’ll have more to say about the current state of the virus soon. For now, understand that whatever stimulus packages end up passing Congress may passively benefit some of us as a mere side effect. The real priority for these stimulus bills is to bail out corporate stock holders who are struggling to buy their third yacht. 

On Climate Change

There’s simply too much to say on the greatest existential threat our species has faced so far. However, there are two main points to stress in regards to this issue. They’re the reasons why we’re even having this discussion in the first place.

First, anti-science and pseudo-intellectualism movements have tainted our way of viewing the world. Instead of trusting scientists and subject matter experts, we’ve been brainwashed into trusting nothing but “common sense” and intellectual hacks. One needs to look no further than the grotesque failures that stem from using our “common sense” to make sense of complicated subjects like quantum mechanics. We cannot solve the climate change crisis by ignoring the hard science, no matter how unintuitive or inconvenient it might be to the layman.

Second, capitalism is a core reason why we’re in this mess to begin with. The prioritization of wealth accumulation, endless growth, and power consolidation over the well-being of humans and the planet is the cancer that created this problem. While human greed and corruption is certainly a factor no matter what system we’re talking about, global warming was inevitable due to adopting capitalism as a power structure for the world.

We can help to restore the average person’s faith in science more easily than we can abandon capitalism, though we can properly attribute the blame for this problem. The top 100 companies in the world are responsible for most carbon emissions and the top 20 contribute 33% of emissions. While we can all do something to alleviate climate change by making changes in our lifestyle, allowing liberals to place the blame on the people rather than the systemic causes and sources of carbon emissions is counterproductive at best.

Nevertheless, our planet will die if we don’t change our way of life. 

On America’s Broken Politics

To a conservative or libertarian that would explain away America’s problems via “regulatory capture” and governmental corruption; ask them why Bernie keeps talking about the billionaire class. Tell them how Bloomberg admitted on the debate stage that he bought out politicians. Then, ask them why they don’t think another conservative, libertarian, or Republican billionaire wouldn’t do the same thing if they had the money.

To an apolitical individual who seeks balance and only sees corrupt politicians; explain to them that we have socialists and anarchists to thank for child labor laws, the eight-hour work day, and the weekend. Explain that these are the kinds of people who constantly fight for the working class where everyone else fails them on a long enough time scale. It’s the fundamentals of leftism that promote egalitarianism and true freedom from oppression, not “state’s rights” from conservatives or “compromise” from liberals.

To the liberal who seeks “unity and justice”; explain that one does not necessarily come with the other. Unity is a means to an end, not the end itself. Prioritizing unity above all else, especially justice, means to prioritize the status quo that currently oppresses us all. 

To all of the above; tell them it is counteractive to the pursuit of justice to unify with moderates and centrists who would trade a mile for an inch when dealing with capitalists who only want to become further entrenched in their positions of power. Understand that there is a difference between building coalitions and caving into the interests of moderates. Dr. Martin Luther King warned us about the priorities of moderates, which rings true to this day.

These are the kinds of lessons that will stick with the average populous more than campaign slogans and specific policies. Bernie has spent his whole life fighting for a movement, not for himself. “Not me, us” is his slogan for a reason.

So, no matter what comes next, we must continue to carry the torch that he, and countless others beforehand, have carried.