The big banks keep getting bigger. The rich people keep getting much much richer, and the earth continues to get warmer.
Young people are realizing that the standard formula for the American Dream is a thing of the past.
It used to be if you studied hard in school and got a college degree you'd have a fair shot. Now, almost a third of new college grads live at home with their parents while they look for a job.
Almost half of American adults have less than $10,000 of total savings and could become homeless in the event of 1 unexpected crisis.
The rules of the game changed and today the playing field is so un-level that most people doubt they'll ever get a chance to improve their position in life.
Sanders grew up in Brooklyn, the son of working class Polish Jewish immigrants. His mother was a housewife and his father sold paint. He was "very conscious as a kid that my father's whole family was killed by Hitler."
I'm not surprised that he has a sense of morality that is strongly humanist and egalitarian.
In a 7/28/15 interview with the editor of Vox (dot) com, Sanders addressed systemic racism and several other issues.
Listening to his reply when asked about the need to address racism, I heard a note of remorse, almost contrition, in his voice.
As he described this country's history of genocide against Native Americans, discrimination against immigrants of many ethnicities and his moral outrage at the atrocities of Negro slavery, I begin to get a sense of the origin of his desire to promote economic justice; his philosophy and humanity.
When Sanders talks about the obscenity of wealth disparity and how the vast majority of citizens are in a dire economic struggle, likely losing their last grasp on any hope of democratic representation, you begin to understand his call for political revolution.
Sanders senses that unconstrained free market capitalism is unsustainable. He sees that social justice is not compatible with unregulated extraction of resources and transfer of money and power to an ever shrinking minority at the very top of a pyramid.
Although he's opposed to many of the policies of the Roman Catholic Church, Sanders praises Pope Francis for his economic and environmental positions. He agrees it's more important to focus on caring for humanity's needs rather than seeking money for its own sake. He's willing to confront the importance of reducing our country's addiction to never ending warfare.
Potential voters are beginning to see a profound, unwavering anchor to Bernie's policies. He's prone to view our commonality rather than our differences. If his solutions seem foreign to many Americans, it may be because we've grown up in a culture that's valued competition and victory over cooperation and the common good.
I share Bernie's view.
If we care representative government and the sanctity of life on earth, if we cherish life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we must denounce the state of our current economic and political system and move to reform it.
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