Bring ‘Em On Home Bernie

I am lucky to have great parents. One of the most important lessons they taught me, from the earliest age, is the notion of good sportsmanship and respect for the rules of the game. We Americans know that even if you compete within the rules, and do your best, you don’t always win. But the most important thing is how you play and how you carry yourself afterward, win or lose. Most of us believe that the winners should show respect for their less-fortunate opponents and that the losers should accept the outcome as fair and work harder to try to win next time. What we don’t like is the winner that rubs it in or the sore loser that claims the game was rigged, or who casts the blame on someone else.
Democracy is no game, to be sure, but these lessons carry over. It can be argued that the most important people in a democracy are not the winners, but instead it is the losers that hold the key, because if the losers don’t accept the verdict of the voters, fair and square, well, the democracy won’t stand for long. Recently the Republicans have played the role of the poor losers and in doing so they have practically ground the peoples’ business to a halt. That brings me to Bernie Sanders, for whom I voted. As the father figure of this unexpected and incredibly encouraging “revolution” Bernie now has a responsibility to his flock to lead by example, to take the high road and abide by the rules of the game and exhibit good sportsmanship. I sincerely hope that after last night’s strong statement by the voters Bernie will reconsider his plans to keep on fighting the wrong enemy and cause a scene at the convention. It’s time to face reality and join the legions of good people in the Democratic party in the true fight, the fight against the Right. Revolutions can happen overnight, but those types usually devolve into mob rule, bloodshed and ultimately some form of totalitarian blow-back. The ones that stick happen more slowly, taking years in the making. Some battles will be lost, but perseverance, unity of command and strength in numbers is the winning combination to win the war. It’s getting late in the day, time to come home. Together we will emerge from the darkness….