Then you are not a socialist.

As a socialist I am not concerned with what is expedient or what is popular. I am concerned with what is right. I am concerned with holding fast to the core ideals of socialism, if for no other reason than keeping this option alive for future generations. And these ideals are the only ones that make possible a better world.

If you will not call for an arms embargo along with the boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, you are not a socialist.

If you will not demand we dismantle our military establishment, which is managing the government’s wholesale surveillance of every citizen and storing all our personal information in perpetuity in government computer banks, and if you will not abolish the for-profit arms industry, you are not a socialist.

If you will not call for the prosecution of those leaders, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who engage in aggressive acts of pre-emptive war, which under post-Nuremberg laws is a criminal act, you are not a socialist.

If you will not stand with the oppressed across the globe you are not a socialist. Socialists do not pick and choose whom among the oppressed it is convenient to support. Socialists understand that you stand with all the oppressed or none of the oppressed, that this is a global fight for life against global corporate tyranny. We will win only when we stand together, when we see the struggle of workingmen in Greece, Spain and Egypt as our own struggle.

If you will not call for full employment and unionized workplaces you are not a socialist.

If you will not call for inexpensive mass transit, especially in impoverished communities, you are not a socialist.

If you will not call for universal, single-payer health care and a banning of for-profit health care corporations you are not a socialist.

If you will not raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour you are not a socialist.

If you are not willing to provide a weekly income of $600 to the unemployed, the disabled, stay-at-home parents, the elderly and those unable to work you are not a socialist.

If you will not repeal anti-union laws, like the Taft-Hartley Act, and trade agreements from NAFTA to the TPP and CAFTA, you are not a socialist.

If you will not guarantee all Americans a pension in old age you are not a socialist.

If you will not support two years of paid maternity leave, as well as shorter workweeks with no loss in pay and benefits, you are not a socialist.

If you will not repeal the Patriot Act and Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act as well as halt government spying on citizens, along with mass incarceration, you are not a socialist.

If you will not put into place laws that prohibit all forms of male violence against women and criminalize the trafficking and pimping out of prostituted girls and women, while not criminalizing the exploited girls and women, you are not a socialist.

If you do not support a woman’s right to control her own body you are not a socialist.

If you do not support full equality for our GBLT community you are not a socialist.

If you will not declare global warming a national and global emergency and divert our energy and resources to saving the planet through public investment in renewable energy and an end to our reliance on fossil fuels you are not a socialist.

If you will not nationalize public utilities, including the railroads, energy companies and banks, you are not a socialist.

If you will not support government funding for the arts and public broadcasting to create places where creativity, self-expression and voices of dissent can be heard and seen you are not a socialist.

If you will not terminate our nuclear weapons programs and build a nuclear-free world you are not a socialist.

If you will not demilitarize our police, meaning that police no longer carry weapons when they patrol our streets but rely on specialized armed units that have to be authorized case-by-case to use lethal force, you are not a socialist.

If you will not support government training and rehabilitation programs for the poor and those in our prisons, along with the abolition of the death penalty, you are not a socialist.

If you will not grant full citizenship to undocumented workers you are not a socialist.

If you do not declare a moratorium on foreclosures and bank repossessions you are not a socialist.

If you will not provide free education from day care to university, and forgive all student debt, you are not a socialist.

And if you will not provide free, state-run mental health care, especially for those now caged in our prisons, you are not a socialist.

If you will not dismantle our empire and bring our soldiers and Marines home you are not a socialist.

Chris Hedges, September 20th

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I would add a couple things:

If you will not stand up to oppose the new racial caste system being enforced through a colorblind legal system, an inherently oppressive Supreme Court, constant attacks on the poor, low funding for black schools, and numerous other things, you are not a socialist.

If you will not examine yourself and commit to changing all of the above in your everyday lives despite the hardship that will bring, you are not a socialist.

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Sanders supporters, be careful how you reply. Being a socialist means you support all of the above as part of a broad movement to demolish all classes. Yes, you can be a socialist while disagreeing how to get there. But you cannot be one while disagreeing with the above, as all of that and more is the only way to abolish class.

Sanders is NOT a socialist. I post this so we can remember that.

But he's pushing us a little bit that way. I'm good with that.