Bernie or Bust? No, It is Justice or Bust
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His campaign has been about us – all of us. It’s about justice through revolution.
Oh brothers and sisters, what an odd time. I hear great energy going into whether or not Bernie should now concede or how the next few weeks look if he stays in the race as he proclaimed he would late Tuesday night. Will Bernie delegates or supporters disrupt the DNC convention? That’s another point to consider for pundits and others. Bernie or bust is one group’s battle cry, while others call for Party unity. I think all of these issues are missing the point and the moment at hand.
Bernie repeated the theme during his speech that this campaign, this political revolution, is about changing this country and addressing the issues he has framed so well over the last year. To the extent that we can exert pressure on the Democratic Party or even on the American public to support those changes, staying in the fight is critical for Bernie.
While the Washington Post and others say that Hillary’s wins yesterday mean that Bernie has less leverage to demand concessions, I do not believe that will be true unless we allow that to be true. If we give up or give in, this political revolution has really been a cult of personality that will fade even as Bernie sits in the White House chatting with President Obama. We have to intensify our resolve, not wallow in disappointment.
During Bernie’s Tuesday, he repeatedly referenced achieving justice in the policy areas he has articulated during this campaign. From climate justice, economic justice, healthcare justice and beyond, that is what Bernie’s campaign and this political revolution is about. It’s not up to Bernie alone to decide the next steps – it is also up to those of us who support this political revolution as much today as we did yesterday and not nearly as much as we will tomorrow.
It’s not Bernie or bust. His campaign has been about us – all of us. It’s about justice through revolution. While Bernie adds the term “political” to his pitch, what we don’t talk about enough is the growing unrest among those with nothing to lose – people like me who have tried to work within and through the political system only to be excluded and discounted – even by the best of "friends."
I watched Hillary’s speech because I wondered how I would feel. And I can honestly say I felt less equal than I ever have in my life. I heard the soaring words about history and watched the video packed with heroic women, yet I was not moved. It felt so staged and so well-timed for prime time viewing that it felt phony to me. I did not see myself at all.
It isn’t as though I fall into the "I hate Hillary" camp, because I do not. I don’t agree with her policies, and I far prefer Bernie’s. What I was feeling was that old familiar sense of exclusion – Hillary is a very wealthy woman who cares little about people like me. Her commitment to build an inclusive society fell flat with me because I know how far on the outside people like me are now and always will be unless there are fundamental changes like those envisioned by Bernie. And I am not foolish. I know my value or lack thereof within our society is mostly determined by my economic status even within very progressive circles.
Reality is that most of us are outsiders to any of the campaigns at the presidential level. Most of us do not have the money or power to be heard, and that’s what has driven millions to Bernie’s campaign and to the huge rallies. Bernie’s political revolution embraces all of us, and it is not over unless we throw in the towel. No matter what happens leading up to or during the DNC convention in Philadelphia, the revolution has been ignited, it is growing and the will of the people will not be denied.
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