1. Vote in every election.
Not just vote for Bernie Sanders in 2016, but vote at every opportunity including all primaries and local elections. In an op-ed in The Guardian, Sanders wrote that low voter turnout (36.6%) in 2014 was “an international disgrace.”
The United States’ voter turnout is among the lowest among developed countries according to Pew. Voter turnout in the presidential election of 2012 was only 53.6%. Even in 2008, with the highest turnout rate since 1960, almost 80 million eligible voters didn’t show. Now imagine if those 80 million or even 40 million turned out to vote. Not just once, but in every election. That would be revolutionary.
2. Become informed.
Long before the primary, Sanders effectively used facebook and twitter to educate the public by creating viral memes and tweets. Sanders is out on the campaign trail teaching as much as he is campaigning for votes. And, this is working. He is convincing people that the misery of their lives is connected to bad policies.
It’s also true that the wake up call from the Occupy Wall St. movement and the popularity of Elizabeth Warren’s appearances in mainstream media intellectually prepared people to hear Sanders’ message. His ideas didn’t seem so strange and outside the mainstream because they are consistent with Occupy Wall St and Elizabeth Warren.
3. Take collective action.
We need to go beyond voting to organizing collective action — lobby, petition, march, protest, communicate with our representatives. Organize like our lives depend on it.
Especially given how high the stakes are in getting money out of politics, there needs to be massive participation to undo Citizens United and corruption. We know that the majority of Americans (84%) believe money has too much influence in our politics. He is asking us to commit to taking organized collective action as Americans to save our democracy.
4. Stay vigilant.
This last point gets to the heart of the question, “How will Sanders get things done in Washington if he becomes president?”
As president, Sanders will be in a powerful position to inform and engage the electorate. In the manner that Franklin D. Roosevelt governed, Sanders will forcefully call out corruption and fascism and rally people to take collective action. We may anticipate hearing speeches like this one.
The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism — ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. (Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Message to Congress on Curbing Monopolies,” April 29, 1938)
We the People, in turn, must rise to the occasion and commit to being good citizens and take ownership of our government. This American Revolution must start from within.
Whether or not Sanders succeeds in advancing the will of the people will depend on if he inspires American citizens to change how we engage with the political process. Once in the White House, President Obama focused on working with actors inside the Washington machine. He decided not to bring to bear on the existing political machine the vast grassroots activist network he built for his campaign. Sanders knows that nothing in Washington will change without engaging this network even after he is elected. The revolt will not stop with the election. It’ll continue until we achieve the ultimate goal of the revolution which is to restore representation and power back to the people.
Partnered with President Sanders, We the People will disrupt the oligarchy with sudden and unexpected participation. We will remain informed and vigilant as citizens. And, this is precisely what the founding fathers had in mind.
The founders believed that citizens must be vigilant. It is not enough to be well-informed; citizens must also safeguard their liberties. Though Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson seldom agreed on much, both would echo Jefferson’s assessment of the need for vigilance. “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent,” Jefferson wrote. (William Chrystal)
In order for the revolution to succeed and our democracy to work, we, the electorate, must change. We must end the era of voter apathy and usher in a new birth of freedom and democracy.