Patrick Walker brought my attention a few weeks ago to the thought that Bernie Sanders running for president might not make it through the primaries and therefore many of us will be compelled to support Hillary Clinton, as Bernie has allegedly indicated he would do, given this practice of long-standing yet mindless tradition. This article is my view of the situation.

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Patrick Walker brought my attention a few weeks ago to an article by Bruce Dickson, who is evidently a staunch advocate of the Green Party. The gist of both articles was this: Bernie Sanders running for president will not (Bruce) or may not (Patrick) make it through the primaries and therefore many of us will be compelled to support Hillary Clinton, as Bernie has allegedly indicated he would do, given this practice of long-standing yet mindless tradition. The logic was tight, indeed impeccable, and a straight line trajectory of past history over the decades into whatever might remain of our future.

I read Patrick's article some weeks ago, then went to visit my dad for his 93^rd birthday and complete some business in New England. The article weighed on my mind, and I had a couple of weeks to spin it around, in waking hours and sleep, and see what "the gremlins of my subconscious" eventually had to say. Yesterday I hunted up and read Bruce's article. I now state my reasons for why I'm gearing up to vote for Bernie Sanders and how I am going about it. I present this as a "take it or leave it" article, and say as I did when I ran against Senator Hatch, that you should vote your own conscience in the end.

The logic has run out, that is clear, insofar as the possibility that Bernie could actually end up serving as a sheep dog, herding progressives into the ghastly and emetic position of seeing Hillary as a better choice than whatever loony-tune clown happens to pop out of the "Republican Bozomobile," or even whatever serious progressive might emerge from the closet on a third party ticket (in whatever states they might actually get on the ballot). We can spin wheels, as many of us do or have done, calculating this, calculating that, adding and subtracting numbers, tallying votes in different states, scrutinizing trends, listening to pundits and talking heads flapping their lips at one another, freaking out on our paperless voting, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

But I can personally go there no longer. And, at age 68, simply refuse to. Life is too short.

When logic reaches the end of its course and you find yourself in an untenable position such as this, I believe the time has arrived to move forward on a different course, using a different rudder than stretching more brain cells to steer your intellect. It is high time, past time, and long overdue for that change.

The time has arrived to vote not with our heads but rather with our hearts. I would argue that it is our failure to be guided by our hearts in the past and in the first place that has gotten us where we are now. As serious progressives, most of us have calculated, tracked numbers, spun wheels, gone in circles, written articles and comments, rallied people here and there and everywhere, marched the streets, handed out flyers, and more, for this, that, or the other candidate.

I hearken back to the days of Barry Commoner, for example click here. I was 100% behind everything this brilliant individual stood for, and most pleased, in the seventies, to see a small but zealous group at the University of Utah lobbying for him. I went to see how I might help, and sought out the leader of that battle charge. I recall it was an intense Jewish fellow, whom I approached and asked how I might use my writing skills to help. He promptly and sharply scolded me: "We don't need a writer! We need feet on the ground, we need to pass out flyers, we need to man booths, we need to get signatures! If you want to write, go home and write, but please don't talk to me!"

So I went home and wrote an editorial for the Utah Chronicle, the college newspaper, about 500 words if I remember right. It was about two weeks later that the gentleman came knocking on my door and said, "I came to apologize." Of course I let him in and we sat in my living room. "It was amazing," he said. "After your article came out, we didn't need to do any more walking. We just needed to sit at the booths and the students came marching to us. We got more signatures than we needed. So I'm very sorry for what I said and I want to personally thank you." Those were not his exact words, but they are the accurate gist of what he said.

I say this not to boast, but to bear witness to the power of correct action and what I believe was clear thinking (not always my forte, but it does happen now and then!).

Countless numbers of us did similar things for Dennis Kucinich. I personally started a free Kucinich bumper sticker campaign, wherein I anteed up about $500 for 500 bumper stickers, professionally and artfully done, clearly and simply saying, "kucinich.us". I had already scarfed up the domain name and used it as a pointer to the official Kucinich website. I asked for folks wanting one of the stickers to merely send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Donations were welcome but not required. On average, however, people donated $5, in ones, a $5 bill, a check, and even some with small change. I was hauling in more than enough funds to bump the next round up to a few thousand stickers. All I had to do was keep a simple record (I don't think legally I even needed to do that) and stuff envelopes, which was quick and easy with a bit of organization. Sadly, Dennis did not run his campaign well and many of us suspected it may have been sabotaged from within. Shortly after my bumper sticker campaign started, the official campaign came out with a glitzy bumper sticker that didn't drive traffic anywhere and was probably unintelligible to most who saw it. (A humorous anecdote was given by a long lost friend of mine, who saw the headline of my article, here on OEN, "Free Kucinich Bumper Stickers!" and thought to herself, "Oh, hell! What did he do now to get himself locked up?") Lastly, on this note, I encourage any reader with the ambition, a bit of time, and a few hundred dollars to pick up the bludgeon of a bumper sticker campaign for Bernie (I'd be willing to give a few more ideas on it; just contact me through OEN). I think I'd skip the domain name pointer in this case and go with this: "No more bs, we want B.S.!"

In the last senatorial election, I ran against Orin Hatch, on the Justice Party ticket, with Rocky Anderson running for President. I started late, ran on a campaign of accepting no funds, and did so in this, to say it politely, somewhat backwater state of Utah. I was totally blacked out by the media. I knew that would be the case, but not to the depths and extent that I witnessed, as did an independent focused on global warming, Bill Barron, and a Constitutional Party fellow, both of whom I became friends with. I couldn't even get a short letter in the five college newspapers I approached, for example, and the Constitutional candidate was outright lied to by Brigham Young University, when they held a debate between Hatch and Howell, with none of us other candidates even being notified. The lead editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, Vern Anderson, told me to my face, with my wife standing there, that he wouldn't run a simple and well-written letter, that I tied in to a piece from a popular columnist, Robert Kirby. In hindsight, I could have done far better, given what I know now, and had I started sooner. But that's history and I did actually get 1.08% of the Utah vote (more than even Rocky, the former popular Salt Lake Mayor).

I mention this latter episode for three reasons. One, if I had social networking down better and started sooner, I could have done infinitely better, entirely sidestepping the MSM, and quite possibly posing a serious challenge to Hatch and certainly to Democrat Scott Howell. Two, I left my website up because I believe it reflects serious progressive views, stated in a way that might appeal to many conservatives (at least many of the principles seem to do so, and I actually took the lead principles from an email of a dreadfully conservative friend, who claimed no one could argue with them!). That site is www.voteutah.us, for anyone interested. Three, my plan of action, in the amazing event that I actually did get elected, was simple: Approach and befriend Bernie Sanders, asap, learn the ropes from him, and extend my circle of serious colleagues from there. The shoot my mouth off like a stuck pig and (to quote Churchill), "Never, never, never, never, quit!"

It appears clear to me that it is our overall continued "political calculations" and twisting and bending or our minds and performing intellectual yoga that have landed us where we are today, namely headed at accelerating rate directly toward extinction.

We have, on the whole, voted with our heads and not with our hearts. We lost Commoner, Kucinich, Nader, Stein, Anderson, and who knows how many others because they'd be "spoilers" and pull away Democratic votes. It is high time, imvso, to vote with our hearts. Or if you consider yourself spiritual, with your soul. I will be voting with my heart and soul, and I will cast my vote for Bernie in the primaries.

It is absolutely critical to get Bernie through the primaries, if we are serious about getting him into the presidency. This is fact, not opinion. To do that, we must keep a close eye on the primaries; we must personally and individually understand how they work in our own particular state, make clear and firm plans to vote in the primaries, and also spread the word to others as well as we can. It is a simple phone call to your state voter registration office to learn when and how the primaries work, and to register yourself as a Democratic (assuming you are befuddled by this deliberately made hurdle and maze, as I imagine many or most of us are).

Right now there are things you can do, and that I have started doing--and more power to you if you are ahead of me on this. I'm pleased to note that they involve no hyperventilating, no spinning of wheels, no running in circles, no glitz, no glitter, no cheerleading, no pounding of pavement or wearing holes in your shoes.

Put it on your calendar to switch to the Democratic Party, if you aren't already there, at your earliest convenience. By so doing you are sending a message, albeit somewhat veiled, that you're preparing to vote for Bernie. Secondly, make a pledge to send Bernie of whatever you choose every month. More may be better, but I believe the amount is relatively immaterial. Even $1 would suffice, in my opinion (I've pledged $10 a month). Why? Because you are sending another message that Bernie has the numbers he needs for the votes, and that you are seriously behind him. Indeed, many of us are 100% there now in principle.

Can there be any serious doubt that the Republicans will note this? Or that Hillary will be encouraged to stock up on Depends?

"But I am just one person, what good will my actions do?" I hear you. And I thus defer to that towering giant of a human, the late David Brower, considered by many to be the founder of the modern environmental movement, when I had the good fortune to interview him in the seventies, and asked him that very question: "It makes a great deal of difference," Dave promptly replied. "The one person who acts, multiplied by a few other thousands who act, will make all the difference. There is no other way to get in touch with the people who are making the decisions. The citizens who believe and feel strongly about these matters, but stay silent, are just giving away the game to the people who don't have long-range view in mind, but are willing to be vocal."

I would, in this instance, replace "thousands" by "tens of millions," (from what I read, Bernie already has tens of thousands) and merely note that many hands make light work. Democracy is not a spectator sport. And RIGHT NOW is the critical time for "all hands on deck" and sending a message that WILL be heard.

A few more thoughts. The concern that Bernie will be a sheep dog for Hillary, even if he were to lose in the primaries, may well be unfounded. Yes, it is true that Bernie does what he says. I say this based on my own observations over the years (one of the many reasons I would have befriended him if I had been elected), and from recently talking with relatives in Vermont, who've lived there for decades and are politically aware (my brother, a well-known Vermont photographer, knows Bernie personally and has talked with him on many occasions). When I asked his astute and politically aware wife her take on Bernie, she replied simply, "Well, he does what he says."

Bernie certainly has been steadfast through his political career about doing what he says, near as I can tell. In the event the he does not get past the primaries, I would suggest to him, as he may have already concluded himself, that for once in his life, he should ACT like a politician. He should come out and say, "I lied. I do not support Hillary, I am writing in Jill Stein," or whoever is the strongest, most progressive looking candidate at the time, very possibly himself. The only thing that could stop you from doing that would be whatever struggling brain cells you might be listening to, as opposed to your heart. In such an act, Bernie would be flipping the bird at our corrupt system, the very one that he regularly chastises, and thus in the larger picture doing what would actually be consistent behavior for him.

As for myself, there will be no more hyperventilating, no more wakeful nights, no more reading this and that article, no more waffling, no more spinning of wheels, just simply, quietly, silently doing the two things I mention here, along with placidly discussing these actions with friends and doing what I can, sans stress, online. Join the Democratic Party (you don't have to vote that way in the end if you don't want) and letting Bernie know you are at least cracking your wallet for him, even a small pinch. A dollar or five a month? Please. One cup of coffee at Starbucks would cover half a year, maybe more, if you include tax.

Hey! It actually sounds like fun to me, and I can sure as hell use a little more of that on a regular basis. May we all, for once, have some fun and stop freaking out. Meanwhile, we will surely have enough time and energy left over to do something immediately useful and tangible, such as kicking the fossil fuel folks in the cahunas by cutting our energy usage, growing our gardens, volunteering for a worthwhile and immediate cause, or any number of things on that infinite list.

Lastly, I offer this quote from voteutah.us:

We should run our country and state on principles and good ideas, and money must not taint our decisions. Hopefully that small light in the dark will serve as an example for others in Washington to consider as well. I suggest that you view the $$$ signs that other politicians boast about as a direct reflection of how far these folks have gone in selling out any principles they may have had--and how far they're willing to go in working against your interests.

P.S. In re Hillary, there's much that can and has been said, largely from her own mouth and actions, but here's my favorite in case you missed it, condensed into three short, 'hilarious' paragraphs: click here

Authors Website: http://www.hyperblimp.com

Authors Bio:

In my run for U.S. Senate against Utah's Orrin Hatch, I posted many progressive ideas and principles that I internalized over the years. I'm leaving that site up indefinitely, since it describes what I believe most members of our species truly want: www.voteutah.us. I thank those who sent such wonderful comments, even though it forced me to go buy a few larger hats, which were among my top campaign expenses (just kidding).

My forever-to-write novel (now my favorite book for some unfathomable reason), A Summer with Freeman, finally got out the door, via Kindle and CreateSpace. Readers of this site, and anyone else with two or more brain cells who want some "serious humorous relief" may want to check it out: http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Summer-with-Freeman-nov-by-Daniel-Geery-130528-385.html

My family and I lived off the grid in an earth-sheltered, solar powered underground house for 15 years, starting in the early '80s, proving, at least to myself, the feasibility of solar power. Such a feat would be much infinitely easier with off-the-shelf materials available now, though the bureaucracy holding us back is probably worse. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Living-on-Sunshine-Underg-by-Daniel-Geery-110318-547.html

I wrote a book on earth-sheltered solar greenhouses that has many good ideas, but should be condensed from 400 down to 50 pages, with new info from living off the grid. It's on my "to do" list, but you can find used copies kicking around online. Just don't get the one I see for $250, being hawked by some capitalist... well, some capitalist.

I'm 68 with what is now a 26 year old heart--literally, as it was transplanted in 2005 (a virus, they think). This is why I strongly encourage you and everyone else to be an organ donor--and get a heart transplant if you're over 50, unless your name is Dick Cheney.

I may be the only tenured teacher you'll meet who got fired with a perfect teaching record. I spent seven years in court fighting that, only to find out that little guys always lose (http://www.opednews.com/articles/Letter-to-NEA-Leadership--by-Daniel-Geery-101027-833.html; recommended reading if you happen to be a parent, teacher, or concerned citizen).

I managed to get another teaching job, working in a multi-cultural elementary school for ten years (we had well over 20 native tongues when I left, proving to me that we don't need war to get along--no one even got killed there!). http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_daniel_g_060716_alternatives_to_exti.htm

I spent a few thousand hours working on upward-gliding airships, after reading The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee. But I did my modelling in the water, so it took only two years and 5,000 models to get a shape that worked. You can Google "aquaglider" to learn more about these. As far as I know, this invention represents the first alteration of Archimedes'principle, spelled out 2,500 years ago.

"Airside," the water toys evolved into more of a cigar shape, as this was easier to engineer. Also, solar panels now come as thin as half a manila folder, making it possible for airships to be solar powered. You can see one of the four I made in action by Googling "hyperblimp"(along with many related, advanced versions).

Along with others, I was honored to receive a Charles Lindbergh Foundation Award, to use my airships to study right whales off Argentina. Now we just have to make it happen and are long overdue, for reasons that would probably not fit on the internet.

In 2010 I married a beautiful woman who is an excellent writer and editor, in addition to being a gourmet cook, gardener, kind, gentle, warm, funny, spiritual, and extremely loving. We met via "Plenty-of-Fish" and a number of seemingly cosmic connections. Christine wrote Heart Full of Hope, which many readers have raved about, as you may note on Amazon.

I get blitzed reading the news damn near every day, and wonder why I do it, especially when it's the same old shit recycled, just more of it. In spite of Barbara Ehrenreich and reality, I'm a sucker for positive thinking and have read many books on it. I find many many of them insane and the source of much negativity on my part. My favorites these days are by Alan Cohen, who seems to speak my language, and likewise thinks a bit like Albert Einstein did (as do I on this note). Albert: "Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent, in fact, I am religious."

Though I rapidly note that I've kept alive my deceased and "devout atheist" friend's book, http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Foundation-of-Religion-by-Daniel-Geery-110510-382.html

Lastly, kudos to Rob Kall and those who make OEN the site that it is: one of the last bastions of free speech.