On a tour to promote his new book “Our Revolution,” Sanders spoke mostly like the progressive leader he has become since losing a close contest for the Democratic presidential nomination — lately with the aura of a progressive savior in the wake of the surprise election of Republican Donald Trump.
In this case, Sanders directed much of his presentation to the many students among the roughly 1,000 people who crowded the gym for a midday event.
“I want to ask someone to define oligarchy, one of the young people here,” he said, later asking for a definition of the ramifications of the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.
“How many major countries do not guarantee health care?” Sanders asked a bit later.
“Right here,” a student answered, pointing to the floor. “America.”
Often speaking over a sea of beaming faces, Sanders offered his take on where the United States is today as it awaits the Trump administration. He said he wanted to make two points. One is that Democrat Hillary Clinton received around 1.5 million more votes than Trump yet lost in the Electoral College. “Mr. Trump has got to understand that he does not have a mandate,” he said.
Secondly, Sanders said, “On every important issue in the country, the leadership of the Republican Party represents a small minority” among Americans.
While there are sharp differences on issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control, Sanders argued that “on many economic issues we are not a divided country.”
Even on social issues, he said, a large majority of the younger generation has adopted more progressive positions than older voters and current officeholders, pointing to greater tolerance over time.
By large majorities, Americans favor higher minimum wages, equal pay for women, affordable health care for all, a secure federal pension system and affordable higher public education, he said — identifying those positions as the exact opposite of what the Republican leaders in Congress say they will soon propose.
Speaking about the decadeslong shift of income to the wealthiest Americans, he said, “I want to ask the young people here if they think that is sustainable, or moral.”
Sanders cautioned that young people probably don’t remember the hard and frightening economic eras of the past, starting with the financial markets crash of eight years ago. And while many Americans are doing well financially today, many others have not seen much of an economic recovery, he said, adding that despair among segments of the working class provided “some of the reasons why Donald Trump was elected.”
The nation also has struggled with discrimination ever since its founding, Sanders said, referring to the treatment of Native Americans, African-Americans, Jews, Catholics, gays and women.
Saying it is too early to know whether the Trump administration will encourage a return to the forms of overt discrimination of the past, Sanders said to sustained applause that he wanted to send the message “that we will resist all forms of bigotry, and we will not go back.”
Concerning climate change, Sanders also said he would “demand that Mr. Trump start talking to scientists, not just representatives of the fossil fuel industry.”
The second part of his book, he said, deals with “what we need to do as a nation,” including discussing real issues and not becoming distracted by the horse race or personality-clash style of news coverage that has come to dominate the corporate media.
To the young people, he added, “I always say that democracy is not a spectator sport. And you cannot just come out to vote every two or four years.”
Sanders said he would tell young people to continue to think about important issues and discuss “how we can come together to improve lives in our country. … Change never comes from the top down. It comes from the bottom up.”
The Burr and Burton students reacting to Sanders’ words included Lillie Berkhout. She said issues that would inspire her to act include “gender roles and getting paid less as a woman, and how Trump is very degrading to women.”
She said taking action for her would include “protesting and speaking out for other people.”
Natalia Sowulewski said, “It’s hard because I don’t know how much I can do as a student.” But she said a group at school is forming a club that will help create a more accepting atmosphere for all people, including those who feel threatened since the election.
Chris Kowanko said he and a friend, Tyler Kraehling, have been inspired by Sanders and others to take action concerning the Dakota Access Pipeline project to carry crude oil, and they are considering a trip to North Dakota to join the protests.
Kraehling said that “it is important, especially coming from the mouth of Bernie, not to just jump into a group and fall in line with most of their beliefs, but instead to kind of make your own path in beliefs and action.”
