Bernie Sanders and the Politics of Empathy

[Donkees]

In some of Bernie Sanders’ most recent ads, especially those made by volunteers, you’ll see images of the candidate hugging people at his rallies. You’ll see clips of him striding out on stage in front of ten thousand supporters, his fist in the air, punching into the bright lights above as if to shower the audience in sparks. You’ll hear him rally those thousands until they break out in joyful chants and cheers; they stomp their feet and thrust their hands into the sky, reaching out of passion and graceful empowerment for the freedom and dignity we all deserve.

Though this almost feels like a dream, it isn’t, yet the campaign’s essence is made of dreams. This is a political and spiritual journey for a better future, built from the rising wave of populist righteousness that founded this country. Leading that journey today is Bernie Sanders; politically with his message for the restoration of American democracy from a wealthy and self-serving oligarchy; and spiritually through the unification of the diverse and empowered millions that seek a secure, fair, and bright future for all of us here and, most importantly, for our children and grandchildren, those yet to come.

We, the citizenry of this nation and this planet, cannot endure much longer under a broken and corrupt political process owned by the rich, nor can we stifle our own righteous anger and frustration with that process. Bernie Sanders knows this, knows us, and is one of us. He leads a fight for all of us, even for those who disagree with him. His ideas would benefit a vast majority of Americans that need a stronger social support system, and he plans to build that system from the need to care for each other during the difficult and anxious times that face us. He plans to build that system from our deepest sense of empathy.

I have been waiting for a leader like Bernie Sanders for my entire life. The politics of empathy that he personifies are those of an honest statesman who serves on principle and strength, rooted in a deep care for and understanding of poor and disenfranchised people, those who deserve someone who leads by virtue of an ethically and morally grounded heart and soul.

When I see those images, hear his speeches, and witness the thousands and thousands that flock to his rallies to hear his message of an honest and decent hope for the future, I am nearly driven to tears because I, for so long, did not believe that a candidacy like his was possible. After all of the corrupt and wretched politicians that I have seen and heard in my life, Bernie Sanders is an honest man who, against all odds, is determined to lead with an unbroken sense of what is right. He makes me believe that we can always do better and reach for more without losing our sense of communal empathy, our eternal sense of kindness.

Those politics of empathy are already deeply moving, and should he enact them from the most powerful position in the world, he will serve as an inspiration to all human beings.


Chris Dollard
Chris Dollard is a writer and Bernie Sanders volunteer out of Providence, RI. If you would like to get involved with the Bernie campaign, you can email him for volunteer opportunities at [e-mail].

http://www.rifuture.org/bernie-sanders-and-the-politics-of-empathy.html

[Rebkeh]

1. Great post!

Thanks for posting it.

[thereismore]

2. This planet cannot endure more of American growth-based economic model.

The times demand a different solution. An empathetic solution called democratic socialism. I don't think the theory of democratic socialism is well worked out, unlike that of, say, communism, but it is clear we need to go in that direction. Call it regulated capitalism, I don't care. Call it capitalism with a human face, I don't care. As long as the government works for the people.

[Donkees]

3. Bernie often quotes Amos:

Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters (Amos 5-6)

All prophets in the Hebrew Bible exhibit moral outrage, but Amos seems to have been downright hopping mad.


If Amos were alive today, what might he say?
Perhaps the most famous line from the book is Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.”

According to Amos, a nation is exceptional by the measure of how it cares for the lowest members of society; and a nation of religious hypocrisy and economic injustice is one that will perish. John Winthrop expressed the message of Amos in his famous work “A Modell of Christian Charity” (1630); he knew that for the Puritan legacy to be a “light unto the nations” and a “city upon a hill,” the community would have to be based upon principles of justice, fairness, and regard for others, “that every man afford his help to another in every want or distress.” More recently, Martin Luther King Jr. invoked the phrase “let justice roll down like water” in his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963), in which he addresses the moral laxity of his fellow Southern clergymen during the Civil Rights movement.

[thereismore]

4. Oh I know Amos very well, he is brutal in his warnings to Israel. Justice is central to any society.

No society can stand without justice for long.

[Donkees]

5. Bernie Sanders - Justice