COMMENTARY: I’ve never gone to a political rally, I’ve never actually believed in a presidential candidate enough to do so before. As most Americans these days I’m rather jaded when it comes to the state of the political climate and as most Americans are these days I’m a little upset (understatement) by how this country and its government have developed.
Courtesy photo
Patrick McKinley
It seems as though Bernie Sanders’ driving force for his campaign is American’s dissatisfaction with this development; many of the things that he is campaigning for our considered idealistic or unreasonable by his opponents and the mainstream media. His main opponent at this moment, Hillary Clinton, insists that his ideas are completely unreasonable and that if Sanders became president his policies he wants to enact would go nowhere and would be blocked at every turn in congress.
One important thing to consider is the fact that this election season has brought a record number of voters for the primaries and a record number of attendees at political rallies and with this, Sanders proclaims that with the help of the progressive Americans in this country these changes are very possible. Maybe the American people will regain a presence in our country’s political system and, with their cries, drown out the voices of the special money interests in Washington D.C.
Attending the rally in Vado, N.M. was an awe-inspiring and motivating experience. Although those pundits and talking heads on the major news networks vehemently claim that Sanders’ campaign is finished and done with, this rally that I attended brought in at least 1,000 people that would fervently disagree and would fight to see his “naïve idealisms” become reality. I felt like I was part of a family; by attending this rally I, like everyone else there, have made an explicit gesture to show that I am concerned with the state of our country, our lack of decent health care, the amount of money in politics, the complete disregard for the welfare of the American people, and the list goes on and on.
You don’t realize how many people really want change and are willing to fight for it until you attend a rally like the Bernie Sanders rally in Vado. Take heed mainstream media; Bernie Sanders’ campaign seems not to only be a campaign but a real and very potent movement that is ready to fight for change.
I feel like listening to Sanders speak is admittedly not unlike hearing many other politicians talk, but the vast difference lies in his track record: His political career shows that what he speaks of is truly genuine, honest and derived from a real passion for helping the underprivileged of our American society. I think that is what is most moving about his speeches; anyone could be up at the podium yelling about social justice, but as his political career has dictated, his motivating yells are honest.
That’s in contrast to the other candidates; where Bernie’s campaign promotes real progressive change and a social care for all Americans, the other candidates seem to peddle hate towards minorities or the sustainability of the status quo and the current digressive oligarchical economy in which we become more and more unwittingly engrossed in. Truly, Bernie, his progressive outlook, and his genuine passion are a breath of fresh air in the stagnate and volatile climate that is our government has been pushed into.
Can Sanders win? That’s the question on everyone’s mind right now and I propose this question: In a way: hasn’t he already won? At this juncture the American people realize that for a very long time that unsettling feeling that something is very wrong with our country has been brewing and fermenting in the back of our minds and at the bottom of our hearts. The Sanders’ campaign, regardless if he wins the nomination, has already given a voice to the tens of thousands of people that can no longer stand idly by while the abusive powers utilize this country’s grandeur and influence to further their own end. This hostage situation is one that has lasted for a very long time and American patriots are fed up with the way their country is being taking advantage of and are ready to establish a movement for the people, by the people.
It’s possible that Sanders may not win the nomination, but what he has done is far more powerful than any nomination; the American people are finally developing a voice to combat the corruption in our country, and with hope that voice won’t fade into the garble of the criminally manufactured puppet show that this year’s election is shaping up to be.
If you’ve ever been to Southern New Mexico on a bright and sunny May morning/afternoon then you will know it is extremely hot. The heat, though, did nothing to deter supporters from coming out in droves and letting their rallying cry be heard. I was there when Bernie came to Vado, came to a state that needs more help than most states in America, came to support the minorities who are the backbone of this region’s economy. The heat did nothing but add to the surreal atmosphere of being able to let out my personal cries of change in a rally akin to movements in the 60s and 70s.
Although I drank copious amounts of water and tried desperately to apply enough sunblock to defend against the glaring Southern New Mexico sun, I can tell you with all honesty: I felt the Bern in more ways than one.
Patrick McKinley is a self-described Thomas Jeffersonian independent patriot who resides in the deserts of the southwest sipping on cheap coffee and never feigning from an opportunity for dissent against a corrupt government. He currently is attending school for another bachelor’s and working a very low-paying job by the spirit of current-day millennials: poverty, crippling debt and existential anger/ helplessness are all the rage!