I usually resist providing free content to national blogs; I feel it upholds the precedent for the demise of writing as a income-generating pursuit. As in the case of artists, musicians, film & video producers, photographers, et al, the work of a creative professional is no longer rewarded monetarily, and that’s just plain wrong. However, Daily Kos keeps bugging me to explain why I support Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, and I can no longer hold my keystrokes:

I support Senator Bernie Sanders for the presidency because of his courage and commitment to stand with and for others. I feel he’s redefining the concept of American Exceptionalism: It’s the mother who works all night, comes home at dawn to drive her kid to school, and then gets up to help him with his homework before she clocks back in to do it all over again.

In my youth, I watched my parents engage in the struggle for civil rights and the war against poverty. My dad was a civil engineer, draftsman, and builder. He spent years of his life rehabbing tenement apartments to help provide affordable housing for families; he also constructed bridges in Liberia, so villagers could transport their children to school and goods to market during rainy seasons. Another early mentor was the Rev. Hosea Williams, who proclaimed to be “unbossed and unbought.” I don’t believe he could have imagined the level of graft and callous self-interest to which modern politicians would eventually descend.

Until Bernie came along, I was resigned that caliber of visionary, honorable leader was an anachronism, relegated to the halls of history. While we recite the wisdom of Martin Luther King, FDR, and the “founding fathers,” we neglect or reject the very principles for which they stood. Too often, we are disappointed and misled by elected officials who serve their own self-interests and ignore the needs and desires of their constituents in their quests for wealth and power.

Over the years, I developed and nursed a growing frustration. I can’t stand the idea even one child goes to bed hungry tonight in the United States of America. But increasingly it is acceptable, even fashionable, to shame and blame the poor for the demise of the middle class. We laud giant corporations as “job creators,” while they refuse to pay employees a living wage, then fail to recognize we are subsidizing their huge profits because people who work hard, everyday, must rely on public assistance to house and feed their families. Folks see “those moochers” in the grocery stores and foment resentment. We’re told taxes are bad, and government is useless. Labor unions have lost support among those they would protect, because we cherish our “right to work.”

States enact “religious freedom” laws to trample the rights of LGBT citizens and codify discrimination against those who practice different faiths or have none. Public schools are starved for funds, teachers are undervalued; we’ve elevated anti-intellectualism to a virtue. Society willingly concentrates large segments of the population in ghettos from which they have little or no hope of escaping, and fills for-profit prisons with those who are victims of destiny. We proliferate and subsidize wars only to turn our backs on refugees who seek the very democracy and freedom the U.S. uses to justify involvement in foreign affairs. We cultivate and celebrate military prowess but show no care or respect for our veterans. Some poison our environment and frack and drill away, while denying the reality of climate change. Our leaders devise trade agreements which reward companies who move jobs and operations overseas, enable tax evasion, and promote wage slavery on a global scale.

Voting rights have been eroded by gerrymandering and judicial disregard, with barely a whimper from the citizenry. Seemingly reasonable people…friends, relatives, and neighbors, have come to acknowledge this as a proper and correct reality - an unchangeable status quo. Activists who protest systemic racism or lack of equal opportunity are vilified as troublemakers. Gun violence is rampant, but we excuse inaction by asserting nothing we try to do will prevent it, so why bother? The health care market is neither “free” nor competitive. Prices aren’t transparent and patients are forced to purchase a product from a private insurer whose primary goal is to maximize capital and minimize benefits…but only if one is lucky enough to afford a plan and then find a provider who accepts it.

When Bernie first announced, he was written off by the media and even the most liberal of pundits as a “fringe” candidate. As a self-professed “hippie socialist,” I was intrigued. I studied Sanders’ record and realized he embodies integrity, in the mold of social justice heroes of the past. I’ve always been issues-oriented, and while I’ve voted in every election since I’ve been registered, I’d never felt this kind of enthusiasm and allegiance for an individual. Once I felt the bern, I had to share it.

My experience as a Sanders campaign volunteer has been amazing and enlightening. There are hundreds, thousands, maybe millions like me; those who believe people are more important than profits, and that a dollar can’t buy our most precious right: our vote. I know. I’ve met them. I listen to their stories, shake their hands and put my arm around their shoulders. I’m no longer a cringing “shadow” progressive. I’m tired of hanging my chad on politicians who pay lip service to my values while trying to convince me they can’t really accomplish anything so “radical.” People are homeless? House them. People need opportunity? Educate them. People are hungry? Feed them. How do we pay for it? Everyone pitches in. It seems pretty simple.

Regardless of the outcome of this election, we’ve regained our voice and renewed our sense of unity and purpose. We’ll drown out the rhetoric of hate and fear. Bernie inspires our hope, our determination, and our belief in “We the People.” One day, our potential will be realized and there truly will be liberty, justice, and equality for all. Until then, I and our compatriots will stay near, to grasp your hand and watch your back. Solidarity forever.