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Political Climate Change

I don’t believe in politics. It is not to say that politics have no place in society. Quite the contrary, I think it plays an important role in any healthy civilization. My issue is with what politics has become, and what people expect from it.

After the recent Canadian federal election which saw Justin Trudeau win a majority government, I began to ask myself, as a far left-leaning individual, whether or not a Conservative victory would have been best for the citizens. I do not make this point out of endorsement of the Conservative party; as stated before, I see myself as a member of the radical left. But before labelling myself with any ism, I see myself as a believer in the collective consciousness. Once the people acquire a level of education and understanding, the political party in power becomes arbitrary. Having said that, I would make the argument of the collective consciousness being heightened when there is a Conservative government in power. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper could not sneeze without the media and the liberal community tearing him to shreds. Criticism in the media is dependent on names and not on principles. People identify themselves closely with the party they vote for and believe they hold an allegiance to their party. Therefore, Liberal or NDP voters, I would argue, keep a closer eye on environmental and social issues under Conservative leadership, simply due to the fact that it’s the Conservatives. With Trudeau in power, and with the full-fledged hagiography that has been formed around him, citizens have put their unequivocal trust into that man. I worry that we will let our guard down collectively and allow egregious assaults on the environment, the economy, and the working class to ensue under the guise of liberalism.

The same kind of make-believe liberalism that exists in Canada has odiously taken over the American political system to a more severe degree. In the last election, it was virtually impossible for the American citizens to elect any representative that did not preserve the interests of financial institutions on Wall Street, the Koch brothers, or Exxon Mobile. It seemed as though the people who make up the liberal class in the United States had been tranquilized. It was not so much that they had gone extinct, but I would make the argument that they were – and still are not quite sure how to articulate their beliefs and visions. This has everything to do with the triumph of big money. Not only have corporations seized control of the political process, they have pervasively infiltrated the vessels of every component that makes up the American lifestyle, be it education, art or culture.

It used to be that way. Until this upcoming election, where a 74-year-old white man has been the unlikely catalyst of a movement away from corporate capitalism. That man is Senator Bernie Sanders, and he has made the Democratic primary go from an almost guaranteed victory for Hillary Clinton, whom he calls the “Goldman Sachs’ Candidate”, to a neck-and-neck, two-horsed race.

Normally, I would not endorse any candidate making its way through either of the political parties in the United States. Especially the Democratic Party. Philosopher Dr. Cornell West has correctly labeled President Barack Obama the “black mascot for Wall Street”. The Democratic Party has taken advantage of the everyday person in the liberal class and their propensity to mistake individualistic progression as large-scale, nation-wide progression (i.e. the election of a black president being a victory for black power, the prospective of a female president being a victory for feminism). Not that a black or female president aren’t important milestones, and symbolic victories for these minority groups, but we must not confuse the victory of one individual as a victory for the masses. According to Dr. Jill Stein, the average black family in America earned $0.10 for every dollar a white family earned before Obama’s election to the Whitehouse. Now, at the end of his two terms, that dime has been reduced to a nickel.

This is why I support Bernie Sanders. Because unlike Obama, and definitely unlike Clinton, Bernie’s campaign is not about Bernie. It’s not about what he will do, and it’s not about how he will save us. His campaign is out to tell the citizens that the ball is in their court. His self-professed political revolution will not be led by himself. He is speaking in a language which urges the citizen to re-claim their rights. He is reminding the liberal class of their powers, and what it means to be a true liberal. A liberal does not believe that their loyalty lies with any particular individual or private group, a liberal is always in solidarity with the oppressed.

As someone who is skeptical, and frankly cynical when it comes to politics, I don’t care if Bernie becomes president, honestly and truly. A victory of the Democratic primary is what I care about more. Should he defeat Hillary Clinton, it will prove to me that the liberal wing can finally see through the empty rhetoric, meaningless jargon, and repeated slogans that soil and solely make up American politics across the board. They have seen that pumped out, corporately manufactured emblems of progress are valueless. It will prove to me that they are done playing the game. Should Clinton win the primary, the cycle will dolefully restart. All the hollow talk delivered by the bastard children of Machiavelli will continue to replace what was once a healthy, lively, active, and morally conscious liberal class.

If you, like me, have stopped seeing politics as a mechanism to effect change, I urge you to research Bernie’s campaign. It is the most pivotal, and monumental American election of my lifetime. The winner of the Democratic primary could have serious implications on America’s economic, environmental and social future. If there has ever been an election to follow, this is the one; because by the next election, it may be too late.

Written By: Giulio Evangelista

Originally Published: March 2016

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