BY JOHN FORDYCE

Question: What does every person living in Storm Lake and the surrounding areas have in common?

Answer: They would all benefit greatly from a Bernie Sanders presidency.

The mainstream media, including outlets such as CNN, Fox News, New York Times, etc., would like us to be divided against each other. Republicans against Democrats. Small-town folk against big city dwellers. People against immigration and those for immigration. Those who support the troops, and those who do not. Nationalists against Globalists. The divisions among us seem to never end.

Democrats promise to expand healthcare, help the impoverished, improve civil liberties, and to keep us out of war. Unfortunately, these promises rarely come true. Many consider Barack Obama to be one of our best presidents, and in many ways, he was. However, Mr. Obama perpetuated the ghastly domestic surveillance program known as Stellar Wind (as exposed by Edward Snowden). He also kept our military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to many more American casualties, and killed thousands of civilians in the region with drone strikes.

Republicans promise to help the farmers, protect our moral values, balance the budget and protect our country. Donald Trump has done the exact opposite on every front. His misguided trade war has crushed family farmers (like my father), and then he gave handouts to the largest/richest farmers. He has said and done countless morally bankrupt things, which is probably why he is the favorite politician of white nationalists. His tax cuts primarily helped the 1% and created an additional $1 trillion in debt. His escalation with Iran has put our very future at stake, as any conflict with Iran would cost many more lives and dollars than the two invasions of Iraq.

Why do our politicians routinely enact policies that hurt 99% of us, regardless of whether they are on the right or the left? As Bernie Sanders has been saying for decades, it’s corruption—plain and simple. Establishment Democrats and Republicans appreciate when we are busy fighting with each other, because then we don’t notice that their policies benefit their wealthy donors exclusively. For example, as of 2019, the U.S. spends more on its military than the next seven countries combined, which substantially enriches defense contractors. Meanwhile, our education system continues to crumble, millions go without health insurance, and we ignore the climate crisis.

When you understand that mainstream media outlets are owned by billionaires and by large corporations, and are ultimately dependent on large corporations for advertising revenue, you see why the mainstream media has a vested interest in the divisions they’ve sewed among us. And because divisive news drives more views, clicks, and listens, the mainstream media has a vested interest in us fighting each other — not in us fighting for each other.

I will not describe why Bernie’s policies make sense for 99% of us, because they need no explanation. He will enact a national $15/hour minimum wage. He will make the billionaires and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes. This will allow us to finally provide healthcare for all under a government-ran program, which is what nearly every other developed country already does. The number of his policies that would positively impact the bottom 99% of our society is staggering and I would urge everyone to consider them. If you’re a teacher, farmer, laborer, small business owner, or anyone else reading this, Bernie’s policies will substantially increase your economic power and your quality of life.

As I mentioned above, many politicians make promises. What makes Bernie different? Unlike the two presidents I mentioned, who made grand promises about “Change” and then backtracked, we absolutely know who Bernie Sanders is. Bernie Sanders has been remarkably consistent during his 30 year career in Congress. Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama fell victim to the political system and failed to uphold the promises they made during their campaigns. Bernie, however, has been subject to that same political system, and he is as revolutionary as he’s ever been. Bernie Sanders is routinely noted as the politician that Americans believe to be the most honest. If Bernie Sanders was going to flip his allegiances to wealthy donors and large corporations, we would have seen it by now.

We should now see that the artificial divisions created by politicians and media outlets serve one purpose: to make us forget that if we join hands, we can use our democracy to make our country work for all of us — the 99%. Bernie Sanders is the only presidential candidate that we have ever seen who truly understands this, who has lived these principles for decades, and that we can trust to represent all of us.

John Fordyce is a farm boy from Aurelia who went on to graduate from Harvard Law School in 2011. He has worked as a lawyer since then, and relocated to Des Moines.