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Us and Them, What Needs to be Said but Isn't

We have enemies. It's common to think that everybody is for good wages, that everybody wants a clean environment, that everybody is for peace. But everybody isn't. Our enemies aren't.

Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders often says that he could not carry out serious progressive change in America even if he were elected. It's true because our enemies would stop him. They have dozens of ways to stop him, but they would kill Bernie Sanders before they would let him carry out serious progressive change in America!

Sanders probably knows it, but the important thing is that we have to know it, too. This is what never gets said: There is a class of people who run things, and every bit of progressive change comes at their expense.

Usually, they win and we lose. Sometimes, we win and they lose. But there are always winners, and there are always losers. The bad news is that Bernie is right when he says he could not effect serious permanent political change, even if he were elected. The good news is that, even though he can't, we can!

Have We Made Permanent Gains Up to Now?

The best political adviser I ever knew used to tell me, "The working class will never make permanent gains as long as the capitalist class is in power." His best example came from the trade unions. He would say that no matter how good a contract a union may get, they still have to win the same things over again at the next contract expiration.

We can see the same thing in civil rights. Many of us alive today remember the great changes and improvements made in the area of civil rights. But the honest ones among us will admit that those gains are being ripped away from us now.

The fight for democracy is a critical example. For most of our lifetimes, democracy has gotten better and better in America. I'm old enough to remember poll taxes and white primaries. In my youth, no one would have thought about non-English ballots or registering voters younger than 21. Those were great gains that we made, just in recent memory. But the honest ones among us today will admit that our democracy is being shredded before our very eyes!

Think unfair redistricting. Think voter suppression. Think big money subverting election laws!

The working class will never make permanent gains as long as the capitalist class is in power. They have to be removed from power. That's what needs to be said but isn't. It's them or us. How we overcome them is the most important thing we can discuss.

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