Three Options

So how do we change the game? There are a number of ways- violent, messy revolution quickly comes to mind. This is unpredictable and could make things even worse, not to mention all the dead people. So what else? Stop playing the game for awhile? Mass civil disobedience and stop voting could delegitimize the whole system. Then what? The power vacuum created fills with the worst types and then the real fun begins; ethnic cleansing, purging and mass murdering our way back to the 12th century! What is behind door number three? We improve our current system by getting money out of politics and turning the Democratic Party back into a real opposition party instead of the paid losers they are today. This is a long shot but less messy than the other two possibilities talked about here. I'm sure there are a lot of other possibilities out there but I'll focus on door # 3 for now.

Bernie Sanders. Yup, Bernie. If he gets the nomination (doubtful but we can hope), I think he could make inroads into that mostly untapped huge group of American voters, the non-voters. No, people don't skip the polls because they are lazy or don't give a damn. They skip the polls because there is no one worth voting for. Year in and year out, neither party has their interest at heart. People vote and nothing changes. Adding unlimited cash into the mix does not help. Can Bernie remain competitive without big money? Time will tell. If he wins and wins big, the Democratic leadership may finally get the message. We don't want to be in the "pretend to be opposition" party while actually favoring NAFTA like deals, drone bombing the shit out of people, easing banking regulations and massive military budgets. No, we want a party that helps rebuild our infrastructure and invests in our health and happiness.

Bernie is not perfect but he could be a big step in the right direction. Take a look where he stands on the issues and see what you think. Oh, where do we get the money? Fair tax and the bloated military budget are two good places to start.  Don't be afraid of words like "socialism." Those who talk of fear and taking us back to some golden age are seldom, if ever, friends.