In the span of half a decade, Bernie Sanders has changed both American politics and the American political landscape. Despite years of public service, first as a mayor, then as a senator, he entered the spotlight unknown to most Americans. Building off of and employing the vocabulary of Occupy, he proceeded to shift the Overton window in regards to the public’s attitude toward egalitarian, social democratic policy. He considerably destigmatized the concept of socialism in a country where the residue of McCarthyism and red-baiting still informed public perceptions of anything left of center.
Sanders created a movement and reinvigorated the American left. He lit a spark in people’s hearts and minds that can’t be extinguished. Millions of people now understand the necessity of an equitable system of government that enshrines the basic needs of healthcare, education and housing as rights. The current COVID-19 crisis is only making this more evident. And now, even though the possibility of a President Sanders is over, he’ll return to the senate and continue to fight as he always has.
Sanders has established a legacy that will likely be one of the defining factors in a further paradigm shift to the left in this country. We’re all indebted to him.
Mike Passarini 