Have you ever seen a barn raising? When you get a whole bunch of people working together, it goes up in no time at all. It’s really something to see. People will gather on either side of a wall and with ropes and some coordination, up it goes. Others then work quickly to secure it and move to the next. Before you know it, you have a basic structure.
People used to help one another like this all the time. I’m sure they all had their own worries, but put them aside for the day. I’m sure there may have been little disagreements here and there, but time was of the essence and they were often working against the weather changing so they were settled quickly. The issue was getting that barn built, that’s what mattered most.
Bernie Sanders tried to get us to help him raise a barn. He told us, when we all come together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish. He never told us it would be easy. He never told us it would be everything we wanted right away. All we had to do was work together and get the walls up. We have no barn folks, we’re arguing about who bought the wood, and who’s going to push and who’s going to pull.
We have a wonderful tool at our fingertips, and we’re misusing it. Let’s look at one of the latest scandals to spread across my timeline, Our Revolution.
So let me see if I have the gist of the situation. Some staffers left. The story goes they didn’t like Jeff Weaver or the organization being a 501 (c) (4). That’s the story, and it’s being added to now to say that Jeff was actually the one to contact the media, and that the staffers just wanted to leave quietly. There is no evidence who contacted the media or why. But seeing as Politco and others that carried the story first were named in the DNCLeak as being in collusion with the Clinton camp, I take whatever they print with a grain of salt. The media blasted posts out the day before Our Revolution was due to launch. Some progressive personalities, for lack of a better term, made scathing web casts condemning the organization before it even had a chance to launch. One went as far as to say “everything that Bernie touches now is contaminated”. Really? This man who has been on the right side of history for the past 30 years suddenly contaminates everything he touches? This man who has held his own in an environment where both the major parties and all the corporate interests have been working against him?
I do see a few people asking some good questions when they comment on some of the posts regarding this. Not many though. What I see mostly is venom and mud-slinging, the likes of which I usually only see from Correct the Record. Theories abound, that’s for sure. And people seem to be spending a lot of time and energy defending whichever one they prefer. In the meantime, we have a big pile of wood getting rained on and no barn.
The way I see it, it’s pointless to argue over whether to go Green or stay Dem, or join Our Revolution or not join. Takes people on both sides of the wall to get it balanced. Activism is not politics but they can work in concert toward the same goals. Sanders understands this better than most. I’ve been reading one of his books this week, Outsider in the White House. Let me share a little snippit with you.
While I will not accept PAC money from corporate America, I gladly accept PAC contributions from organizations fighting to improve life for ordinary people. Over the years, my campaigns have received strong financial support from PACs associated with organized labor, the environment, women, senior citizens, human rights, and the needs of children. That is continuing in this campaign.
The general ignorance surrounding the issue of campaign financing is frustrating. My opponents call me a “hypocrite” for accepting PAC money. How can I accept PAC money, they say, and then claim that I am fighting against “special interests”? Isn’t a PAC, by definition, a “special interest”? Aren’t all PAC contributions the same? Does it make any difference who the PAC represents?
Such questions, which are repeated ad nauseum in the media, reflect a lack of understanding of the role of money in politics. So let me be very clear about this. I do not believe that working people are a special interest. I do not believe that hungry kids are a special interest. I do not believe that fighting for the right of women to control their own bodies is a special interest. I do not believe that protecting the environment is a special interest.
(Sanders, Gutman “Outsider in the White House” (2015))
I’ve learned a lot reading this book. I’ve learned that Bernie has faced the the same type of problems we’ve seen in this election, in every race he’s run to some degree. I know I’ll never be able to look at politics or any election the same way ever again. I think that’s good!
Time and time again, Bernie has taken the higher road in refusing to sling mud or attack an opponent on a personal level. That frustrated many of us when we could see so clearly how he was cheated, and how horribly his delegates were treated. We saw first hand that the Democratic party had no interest in what we had to say. It hurt. It hurt a lot and it was hard to understand. But I can tell you that it’s nothing new to Bernie, he’s been through it in every race he’s ran in. The deck was always stacked against him. The media always either ignored him or treated him like a novelty item. He steadfastly kept talking about the issues. He didn’t sling mud, or stoop to name calling. So, when the time came to sit down at a table with some of these people and negotiate, he had a leg to stand on. He may not of been wanted there, but no one could deny his integrity, and he had earned some respect.
I’m going to do my best to follow that example, and treat the people that disagree with me the way I would like to be treated. I may make mistakes, but I’ve raised my expectation of myself now. When I see stuff that just infuriates me, I take a breath and remember that we’ve got a barn to raise.
blasphemous rumors 