Bernie is Love, The Bern is the common feeling of compassion and responsibility to each other. The way we relate to love, as a society, reflects our own personal relationship with love. Love is the most powerful force in the universe and what unites us all. We were all made for love. Love is limitless yet we all live in a world where there does not seem to be enough of it, or we all miss love in various ways and often look to other things to make up for it. This is how people become greedy for money or power in different ways but all true power comes from love and these other pursuits are doomed to dissatisfaction. Because people become frustrated by love turning out differently than we hope we tell ourselves we want other things but they are delusions. In fact there are two things that keep us from love, fear and falsehood. If we fall in love but the feeling is not returned, or we miss the love of family growing up, we might seek power in some form instead of love, because we are afraid of “losing” again. We may even become obsessed with winning. If we fall for people who only pretend to love us, who lead us on, we may either become jaded about love or come to expect and accept that and give up on honesty and trust.
We have all had experiences like these, if not with lovers with friends and family. If we can find just enough love to imagine more, we can see how much is there, how powerful it is and how only these false powers stand in the way of all of us experiencing more, deeper, and more varied kinds of love. Dr. Cornel West says “Justice is Love expressed Publicly.” (Shaq just said “here’s to the 99%” in a Gold Bond commercial about success being 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.) We can feel the sense of Justice, the need to change oppressive laws and bigoted, fearful ideas in society. It’s what brought us together to elect Obama with a sense of hope that we can change these things. With frustration with the pace, and constant obstruction by the worst elements of society, we’ve turned to Bernie to satisfy this thirst for Justice, for Love in the world. And we’ve picked the right person for the job. Justice is for everyone and everything. Love is the path to reach it.
We need justice for oppressed people in America. We need justice for people around the world who are affected, whose lives are destroyed and ended, by American foreign policies. We need justice for the earth, for the environment and all life on the planet, by finally addressing climate change and the threat that unchecked capitalism poses to all of us. We need justice for the political system, for the people who were disenfranchised in this primary but also the whole communities who have been regularly suppressed and face recent laws like voter ID (which is only sold to people by fear and bigotry, not any actual problem) to make it a real democracy and preserve the ideal of democracy for the world. We need justice for kids to free them from bad education systems and therapy systems using them as guinea pigs for the Pharmaceutical companies. We need justice in the justice system, end racist and murderous policing and ban private companies owning prisons, and we need justice for victims of the racist and classist Drug War, as well as for other countries it affects. We need justice for weed, for everyone who wants to smoke it for fun and creativity, for everyone who needs to smoke it for health, and for the discoveries and products we can make, from textiles to green energy, by making it legal. Bernie is the one who not only represents all of these things but will realize them.
We all know we need these things because everyone is good at heart. I won’t get into the details but obviously Trump represent fear and Hillary represents lies. We can’t demonize them because they are already the products of these anti-love forces and they need help. People who don’t feel enough love can become mean or bullies, like Trump. Whole communities can feel that way, cutting themselves off from greater humanity with racism and nationalism. Even here in Colorado, where many people have been moving for years, especially young people, and even more with awesome, legal weed here, there are some bigoted, fearful “locals” who made a petition to ban anyone from moving here. This is the public example of people who turn themselves off to love, insist they don’t need it or won’t make the changes to make it possible in their lives. They need to overcome their ego, which will make you miserable, and embrace love, but they are afraid. We can’t blame them for being afraid but we need to call it out that racist ideas and movements are based on fear and ignorance. We need to save them from racism as much as we need to save the world from the effects of it.
Trump is the symbol of fear in the modern world, our own version of a Hitler or other despicable dictator. I thought of the Bushes that way but of course Trump is even worse, more openly and thoroughly racist and evil. He knows it and is proud of it while Bush did not fully realize how oppressive his policies were and was misled. But I don’t want to get too into this, everyone who cares knows the details. The unfortunate thing is that people see Hillary as a positive alternative. She only seems to be because he is so awful and she sometimes talks positively but all of her claims are false and she constantly opposes Bernie’s more progressive agenda. Even the speaking Koch brother has said she truly represents everything Republicans stand for but is just lying to the Democrats to get elected. He is saying that to get her support from Republicans, who hate her and would have to be talked into it, not to slander her among Democrats. One Grand Dragon of the KKK endorsed Trump and after the media badgered him for a few weeks (which they didn’t bother to do in previous months with as much clear evidence that he was KKK) he repudiated the support, but another Grand Dragon endorsed Hillary with the same language Mr. Koch used. And she never repudiated it, that I know. Mostly she stands for all the same evil companies, from the military to the oil companies to the banks to the media, gets money from them and uses them for her own ends. She also takes money from dictators and big business criminals and pushes fracking and war around the globe.
If Justice is Public Love, Public Hate is Injustice. For a personal analogy of the public Trump movement, you could say it is like a bad relationship or being abducted. But it’s more like someone who has given up on love, like someone who goes to the bar to meet someone to fight. The Injustice of Hillary is more like a bad, abusive relationship, one you can’t get out of. She cuts off your means of escape, your votes, cuts people out of you life who can tell you what is wrong about her, from controlling the media to assassinating critics like the lady in Honduras who pointed out that Hillary imposed the dictator they are now rising up against, or the former head of the U.N. who died in a weightlifting accident days before testifying against her, literally cutting people out of life. I won’t go on about her evils, just say that in the relationship analogy, bad love is something we too often get accustomed to and even call it love, when it isn’t. If it is love you can feel it in your heart and in the heart of others. You might feel it has been hidden or obstructed but there are ways around that. As I said last time, Hillary, like everyone, has a good heart, underneath, and could become a good person by following her heart. Everyone can sense that she is so inauthentic as to seem inhuman. All of her evilness and falseness has been in pursuit of power and frustrated by love. So more power is not going to be the easy way for her to realize the error of her ways and follow her heart. Her heart, also, must feel the Bern which is all the more reason she has to ignore it. She knows better than anyone that he would be the nominee if not for her stealing the primaries and having the system and power players on her side. She knows the will of the people, of Democracy, is for Bernie. And she knows that all the very best things she claims to believe he can do much better than she can. For one, because he believes them all more passionately and for longer. But it’s important and obvious that harnessing the enthusiasm for Bernie will also elect and Democratic House and Senate and anyone who really wants progress would take the route that actually will make changes. Unfortunately, Hillary sells herself with vague versions of these ideas but actually wants a protracted “fight”, as we’ve been having, to maintain the status quo. The more radical, liberal changes we make, the more we will all benefit from the new culture we will create and we can move beyond debates about climate change and violence, live much better and find other, useful things to put political energy into.
There is no way to escape bad love, a manipulative relationship, if we don’t have a better idea of what love can be. Someone who does not truly want to love you, just control you, will keep you from seeing that their are other options. Some people have not connected with Bernie because they don’t know about him, his ideals or goals, or what they can do for the world. I, and other Berners, truly know that it is Love and the only, best path to a good future. I believe it is in everyone’s heart to Feel the Bern, I know we can all connect through this movement. But it is up to each of us, and our communities, to find our hearts and recognize that it is love we are missing, love we need, and that Bernie and this political revolution ARE this love expressed publicly, this quest for justice in action. We can and will realize these ideals, we will elect Bernie, but we do need people to search their hearts and feel the Bern and support him.
This gagablog is all about Gaga and lately, as the Goddess of Love, about my hope for her support for Bernie. But she has her own “blockage” to clear to Feel the Bern, to reactivate her heart, just as we all do. Berners have to have faith even when all seems against us. Others need to wake up to what is really going on and how it goes beyond their self-interest, to their hearts and what connects us all. We have the recent example of “pulling away”, dis-uniting, in Brexit and what a catastrophe that turned out to be. I heard someone say on NPR that it was inevitable, comparing it to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and saying that any superstate is doomed to fail because it threatens democracy. We can see in this rigged primary the way a system can be too big to be changed, or seem that way, and can be threatened by democracy and therefore become hostile to democracy. But it is possible for democracy to redeem a state, even a superstate. The difference between an authoritative superstate and a supportive one is the whole conception of government. If the primary focus is defending a border from enemies outside, the power of violence becomes unchecked and dangerous to all the bigger the state becomes. And as we have seen, this same overpowering violence is used against the people of the country as well. But if the primary focus is taking care of the people and even helping the rest of the world, to use power to empower the disadvantaged, the government, on this principle, can never get too big. This is the goal of rediscovering the heart of government by awakening our own hearts.
The Superdelegates and celebrities who use their power and influence to switch and support Bernie will be welcomed home and into our hearts. But we just won’t be able to trust anyone who doesn’t switch before it becomes obvious that Bernie will be our next president. Politically we will primary them because they have not been leaders. We can also become our own leaders by following our hearts and truly supporting this revolution of Love. We could live in a culture where people say it is wrong to love someone because of their class, race, or gender. Many of us do. But in such a case, the only thing we can really do is follow our heart and be true to ourselves. The same is the case for Bernie. “They” might tell us it is impossible but when we search our hearts we know it is the only possibility, it IS love. And regarding the issues which should be so important to Gaga, the Goddess of Love, Hillary only says she evolved to support Gay Marriage in recent years. Bernie has always supported it, as well as transgender rights, as long as he has been in office, for forty years. He made Gay Pride Day official in 1985 as mayor of Burlington VT. He has always been on the right side of history on this and every important issue. And the most important ones he has the most radical and needed plans to address. The new liberal Prime Minister of Canada, Trudeau, recently attended the Gay Pride festival there as he has for years before becoming P.M. and made the news as the first on to attend but said it should not be a big deal. There are many things, especially involving equal justice for all people, that should not be a big deal, but are, and will be until we make necessary changes.
Bernie has always been on the right side of history, the future, liberal side, on all issues so it is only fitting that he has been ahead of the political times on Gay Rights. I like to say that in contrast to Hillary and Obama who recently “evolved” on the issue of Gay Marriage as it became politically expedient, Bernie was Pre-evolved, or to use the Pokemon terminology, Mega-Evolved. I also say he will be our first Black President. While Obama had the appeal of being black and certainly campaigned as if he would address long-standing institutions that create suffering for the black community he has not lived up to those expectations and even become more a part and defender of that system than a reformer. Like I said last time, the #BlackLivesMatter movement gaining such prominence, but remaining underground, shows how he lost this connection with the people and our desperate need for justice in the justice system. Answering this charge in an NPR interview that aired today, Obama said he could see how a young person could be frustrated with the rate of change but said he had made progress reforming the prison system by working with Governors and Mayors and commuted more non-violent sentences than the previous seven presidents combined. I appreciate all of that but considering his power and influence he could have done much more to correct racism and injustice and as commander in chief, chief executive, certainly could have done more to address police brutality, especially as the cases have come to light more often thanks to cell phone cameras. Bernie will actually seek justice. He has already proposed bills to the Senate to legalize weed which has been central to racist policing. He also proposed a bill to end the corporate ownership of prisons, too. But these are just some examples when it is everything about his attitude of respect for people that shows in all he does, how he relates to everyone on the campaign and how he let the #blacklivesmatter activists speak on his podium. He is the only candidate who accepted the invitation to meet with the Native American tribes and in every way is respectful of all the rich tapestry of culture that makes America. While it is fitting that Bernie would be right about all of these issues it will be even more fitting for all of America as more of us reach these conclusions and see the benefits of helping everyone.
This is the example of how The Bern means Love for all communities but it’s also love for the whole world, from promoting peace to addressing climate change. We all want this and can reconnect with our most hopeful selves to make it come true. The reason Obama said a “young person” might be frustrated with a slow pace of change is that we all have more optimism, hope, and idealism with youth. We can maintain youthfulness throughout life by being in love, with life, but as kids we do all have it naturally. With modern technology the hope and talent of kids is being realized and developed and we all can realize that we don’t have to wait for an Old World pace of things. With the threat to humanity from war and climate change we know we don’t have time for slow change, we need to move as fast as we can. And this is why we are so disappointed with Obama endorsing Hillary, more of the same, and the threats it poses to all of us if we don’t seize the chance for real change.
Gaga said we need a Mother for the country. I’ve always believed this, since before I was aware of any more issues than pollution and war. Since I was a kid I hoped for a woman president, felt we were overdue and would certainly have one soon. And the reason I hoped for a woman is I associated the feminine with more compassion, understanding, and non-violence solutions to problems. Bernie is the true feminist in this race whose policies and choices will actually benefit women and protect women’s rights far more than Hillary’s, specifically. But his general plan to benefit everyone much more will help not only end sexism but make everyone’s lives much better, allowing us to enjoy ourselves and relationships with less stress and live the lives we really desire. He would actually be far more Motherly and compassionate to the country and the world than Hillary. His policies and goals are actually in line with Mother Nature where Hillary is in the pocket of polluters. We need a mother for the country because we need someone who truly loves the country and loves us, not someone who is just using us for her own power and to safeguard the power of evil corporations. Obama was, and kind of is a sex symbol. Someone pointed out how the charm had worn off in comparison with Trudeau, when they met recently, and the Canadian leader is more handsome and youthful. But what actually makes him so attractive are his beliefs and actions that are more genuinely liberal and therefore loving. Liberalism exudes love. Some people are scared of it but if they can get over that they will find their outlook, and lives, improve. Bernie is not as much of a sex symbol, but is to some, mostly for this liberal reason and his winning smile and demeanor. But he is like a loving father or grandfather to all of us. And we need that kind of wise, steady, unconditional love, for all people, not just some. We need to realize the many different kinds of love and this is the one we most need, now, especially when it is also the most Motherly love we can vote for.
We can and will vote for Bernie and elect him one way or another. I hope the Democratic party can salvage itself and nominate him instead of destroying itself as the Republican party has finally, thankfully, done. But it is up to the Party to find it’s heart and up to those who care about it to find theirs and act on it. I have more to say about recent media magic and Gaga, especially finishing discussing the Artpop songs, but noticed more people are reading this with a Bernie theme and wanted to keep it shorter and more digestible. And thanks to you all, too, please share parts you like! But i will mention two things that happened just tonight on the way to see the glorious Fourth of July fireworks in Littleton, and nearby shows we could see from the hillside. It was awesome. On the way there was an NPR show about U.B. Blake and they played the song “Lucky for me” about the luck of the number 13. This stood out because I had just put thirteen dollars in gas in the car, all the ones I had handy, and thought about it being lucky, then that song was playing when I got back in the car. Then a few moments later my lover saw a firework and said “there’s a dollar’s worth of fireworks already” and they started playing “Dollar for a Dime” about trading a dollar for a dime to play an old record, with a magical feel to the lyrics and timing, of course. I will leave it at that, for now, and mention some other events next time. Thanks and please spread the word about Bernie. There is a reason we believe in him and it is good for all of us to discover in ourselves. Those of us who just don’t know need those of us who do to keep spreading the world. The Bern truly is something we can all discover inside of ourselves, like Buddha nature or a personal relationship with Jesus or other divinities of love. And it’s not at all exclusive, all of these great expressions of love for mankind are all-inclusive. And we’ve all been held back by the same things, so we can all help each other, but some are still stuck in it worse, and all of us suffer from the unnecessary evils of a few people’s greed. Old revolutions have involved killing those people and redistributing their wealth but we are better than that, now, and can rely even on the rich Feeling the Bern in their hearts, especially when the rest of us are lighting up and going off like fireworks all around them.
Happy Independence Day, Berners and Little Monsters, Americans and Everyone - remember independence isn’t just from Tyranny. Once we have liberty we have a duty to seek more of it for ourselves and others. We can have the most liberty, the most freedom from other’s tyranny over us or from becoming tyrants ourselves, by realizing our interdependence with the rest of the world, as individuals, communities, nations, and between species, the earth, and the rest of nature. Bernie is the way to make this happen! Okay, one media magic example, since the gun episode of the SImpsons is on in the background - he just said “You come with me to an NRA meeting and if you don’t think guns are great, we’ll argue some more.” Lisa had just said the 2nd Amendment was just a relic from revolutionary days and Homer responds that if he doesn’t have a gun the king of England could come in and push everybody around. Of course all the lines are gems but had to mention those two. Fear and lies are all that keep us from love. Humor and art can help us see through these derailments and we must respond to the truth of love instead of fears or being taken in by lies. If we start acting truthfully, with heart, we can find love for everyone in the earth and heal the damage we have done. Electing Bernie is our chance to get back to the heart of idealism of America, a place for everyone to live together in peace from all over the world, and realizing The Bern, the ideals, in our hearts is the way to awakening each of us, and our communities, to Love.
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