Those small donations...
Those small donations sent to Bernie Sanders represent something we seldom talk about, something that is at the heart of what liberal and progressive Democrats passionately believe in, and that`s sacrifice. In the case of the Bernie Sanders movement, the donations sent were heartfelt actions taken by those who can least afford it, in a political system dominated by Big Everything, from super pacs to media enablers to giant Democratic Party establishment machinery.
Sacrifice. Something we see from parents who struggle to finance their child`s education to the small segment of men and women that actually fight the hawks wars, to the folks in Flint who have to beg for clean water. We see sacrifice from those with inadequate health care, from teachers using their own money to purchase classroom supplies, from food shelf volunteers, from the guy who hitches a ride to work because he can`t afford to fix his truck. It`s everywhere if you look through lenses not chosen by establishment media and political machines.
When Hillary Clinton said she and Bill were "dead broke" when they left the White House, I thought about this elderly man I know who had to cut his wife`s life-saving pills in half because they were dead broke. I thought about a young woman who walks about 1 1/2 miles to her job at the grocery store because she can`t afford a used car. Snow, sleet, rain, cold, it doesn`t matter. She walks, because after she pays her rent and utilities, she`s dead broke....as are many paycheck-to-paycheck workers. These folks have to sacrifice as they claw their way through each and every day. We can`t lose sight of the millions of people like this as big money donations flood Washington, donations that buy access, cooperation and votes. I wish with all my heart that the tire changer guy and that older woman who mops the laundromat floors could afford a giant political contribution so they`d have some sway in Washington. Since that`s not going to happen, the pressure has to come from we, the people....people who walk the talk.