In his speech yesterday, Bernie Sanders spoke of (and I am paraphrasing here) he spoke of needing his fellow citizens to back him up so that he could represent us.
Representing your constituents is a power in and of itself.
We have certainly seen and felt the power of those who represent the rich and powerful in this country. Their constituents pay a great deal of attention to their representatives.
Our guys? Not so much. And often for very good reason. The dynamic, for one thing, is very different. The rich constituents are used to succeeding, they truly do buy governmental power.
We may convince some reps of our POV, but we usually don’t have the means or sometimes even the skills, to transfer our power as citizens to our representatives in a way they can use to counter the power of the other constituency.
I am speaking literally here. Power is not an abstract thought, it is a real force in this universe, and we all have it whether we abuse it, use it, hide it or throw it away, don’t matter.
Anyway, I give Bernie credit for knowing where his power comes from. He knows it viscerally. There are probably some others in Congress, and in state and local government now who know that the same way.
I am heartened that me and my fellow citizens are now aware, in whatever capacity we have, that this kind of power may take longer to amass, but once people are brought together, the represented supporting and informing the representative, and the representative allowing that power to come forth, to truly represent the former, there is no power that can withstand it.
