Why Would Young People Say
There is no difference between the two parties?
I have only one thing to say to the Democratic Party: I supported Bernie Sanders when he ran for President. Why? Because, since my first vote was against Goldwater, and I have voted for every Democratic candidate since then (even though I had doubts about some) Bernie was the first candidate in decades who actually voiced the “platform” of the Democratic Party as it had been articulated by FDR in order to stem the disaster of the Great Depression. That economic disaster was created by reckless stock buyers, bankers, and assorted speculators in 1929 *they were also known as the Republican Party then as well.
Oddly, we’re only four years away from 2029 and following a similar agenda by (wait for it) the Republican Party. The great liberal reforms begun during the Gilded Age began it all. The Triangle Shirt factory fire 1n 1911 was caused by the owners of that New York shirt factory locking female workers (about 500, from 13 to 25 years old) into their work areas. They were stepping outside due to dry the sweat from their hair. In addition, the owners of the factory were attempting to keep out union organizers. They ended up trying to jump from windows on the ninth floor, while those on the tenth floors were able to escape. The fire started at about 4:30 in an eighth floor cutting room filled with flammable fabric. The ninth floor workers could not open their locked doors. Many jumped from open windows to their death. (www.savingplaces.org)
Funny that a similar incident happened in India in 2020. The death toll was only seven, but the factory was making denim clothes for major American brands. The single excuse? A lack of fire safety in the building is largely to blame for it. Major brands immediately announced that they had no connection to the company.(sourcingjournal.com)
I fail to see that the status of being slaves is removed by giving them a salary that guarantees they can’t even afford a place to live and adequate food. Even the Gilded Age provided dormitories for women fabric workers in the U.S. be glad BBernie knows how to tell the truth.
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Because they're young.
Back in 1975, kids said that Gerald Ford was the best president we ever had.
Even then, being a history nut, I looked at them funny.
Thank you for this piece, Patricia. Especially anchoring it in historical examples i.e. Gilded Age and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (I'm sure you knew future and first female cabinet member Francis Perkins had a hand in investigating the incident with the NY industrial commission...). Problem I see is many people are too self-absorbed in 'the today' or their own lives, understandably. But it comes at a high price. For example, I have taken to deliver our local Comox Valley, BC weekly, tyo get to know our neighbourhood. But still am amazed that, while it does a poor job in covering local news (there's always one or two stories that are important to learn about), many people don't want to read this free paper. I remember reading a quote by Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson years ago in his second run for president in 1956 against Eisenhower that the challenge for liberals/Democrats in the future as more Americans become secure (self-absorbed?) in their lives, the less they will remember where these policies and programs came from in attaining a better life, everything from schooling, the right to belong to a labour union, health and safety, Social Security, etc. I'm sure you will agree that many voters voted against their interests in 2016, 2020, and 2024 largely because they feel they are falling behind economically, a candidate by way of DJT (I refuse to spell out his last name during his second term in office) exploited this voter frustration with his infamous 'I alone can fix it' statement, and a combination of ignorance (like understanding how tariffs work) and 'throw the bums out' attitude. This is where we are in 2025.