Despair Is Not an Option, So Here's What We Must Do by Bernie Sanders
Despair Is Not an Option, So Here's What We Must Do by Bernie Sanders
We have got to take on Trump and the oligarchs. And the best way to do that is to educate and organize, educate and organize.
I’m just still baffled at how so many people seem to think the same old counter-strategies are going to work in the context of “we’re turning into a fascist/kakistocratic state”. Remember: MLK only succeeded because Malcom X was the alternative, and the powers that be recognized that.
until he started speaking out about poverty and the war dead on both sides of the color spectrum.
then MLK got assasinated.
My point is that nonviolent protest movements tend to be more successful when there’s an “or else…”, implicit or otherwise.
Anger is more useful than despair -- by Terminator
And when anger begins to wane, replace it with hope.
"Organize" and do what?
Form militias I guess? That's what the 2A yokels told us to do right? Use the amendment to prevent a tyrannical government.
I don't understand how people think this is going to go any other way. It's that or fascism.
Not a bad idea. Ive been saying this for years, if the left embraced the 2nd amendment they would win every election. Its contradictory to vote for legislation and politicians that only benefit the rich and powerful while espousing for the proletariat. A government that does not fear its people will always become tyrannical, fascist, you name it.
MLK and Civil Rights Movement v2
I'm very on board with this, but it needs to come with slightly more threat of violence
Organise local communities via education. Explain the current problems we’re facing, and advocate on behalf of the community for what we need.
Collectively bring those concerns to local politicians and push for those changes. Get the candidates representing those changes elected locally.
Get this to snowball and we can get state representatives that advocate for these changes.
Further snowballs and it can get to the national level. Eventually, the federal level.
These changes will take decades. What we do now won’t help us. But we will help our future children’s children. We may be able to save democracy and the collapse of the U.S.
If we can’t organise, the U.S. is doomed. Don’t despair. Grieve for your country, then get radicalised and angry. Use that anger to fight the system. But we need representatives, perhaps even politicians, to instruct the general population how to fight back by organising rather than leaving hopeless and disenfranchised people to give into rage and respond with violence.
Tl;dr - Get involved with local political communities to advocate for progressive policies. Community brings concerns to local politicians. Local politicians platform for these changes and we fight to get them elected. Continue this process of snowballing to get district elections, state elections, and eventually federal elections. The only way we can get there is with progressive policies that focus on the problems of the working class, and working hard to unite the working class because the owner class will exert all their resources to divide and disenfranchise us. They need us more than we need them.
When you put it that way it sounds... Unpossible
Even if voters did everything they could during this Trump term. It still falls on people in power not wanting to fight and being spineless, or being bought and paid for. It is such an uneven battlefield that incrementalism won't work anymore as well.
Education is not going to solve our immediate problems, but it is essential to solving our long-term problems. For the short-term, organizing means finding ways that large number of people can apply pressure. Shifting our spending habits may be the most effective. The super wealthy and their corporations still rely on all of us handing over our money to them in exchange for good or services. Working to change local and state-level voting patterns is also viable, since a lot of the enablers are politicians who want to keep their jobs.
Nothing we do right now is going to stop Trump from hurting a lot of people, although we may be able to limit the damage. The early stage of most fascist takeovers counts on broad public support. There are already enough of us to make that harder for them. And there will be a lot more of us fairly soon, once Trump's supporters begin to suffer directly because of his policies.
Even when there is nothing immediate to do, we need to keep looking for opportunities. There will be some. And the better advantage we take of them, the less damage will be done. And the sooner we can remove the oligarchs from power.
Yes Bernie... We all know the problems (thanks to you, seriously), but now we need a PLAN... Give us the strategy. Tell us where and when and how you know? Let's strategically start replacing establishment Dems with progressive. Let's strategically start ballot initiatives. Let's strategically start winning local elections with anti establishment candidates. Let's have a plan!