Busting "Bernie or Bust"

He was always there, spouting the same message. It is a message of hope, ideas, and social equality. It is a message for those disenfranchised with politics today, or rather, in the role money in politics has played. It is a message for all.

And many are buying it. So many and so loyal are these Bernie Sanders followers, in fact, that they have started their own pledge: Bernie or Bust!

After all, he is the only honest one among the candidates. He is the only one whose message never changed. He is the only one who is funded not by gigantic PAC’s, but rather, by grass-roots good-old-fashioned fundraising. He is the good guy, and if Disney has taught us anything, it is that the good guy always wins.

But what if he doesn’t? What if the beloved Bern-Bern does not clinch the democratic nomination? The back-up plan is of course, Bernie or Bust. No Bernie? Fine! Then we won’t vote! Or we’ll write him in as a protest vote! So there!

Congratulations!!!

You are all idiots.

Welcome to the Game of Thrones, er, politics…no, Game of Thrones is right…or is it politics? Or maybe Monopoly, or War, or Checkers? Call it what you will, welcome to reality. It’s a noble notion to think that the good guy, the honest guy, should win. But there are two truths to accept before we can grow: Who says Bernie is the good guy? To others, he’s the bad guy, and Hillary Clinton or (barf) Donald Trump are the good guys. Just because YOU think he is the good guy doesn’t mean he is. You, after all, are everything to yourself, but nobody to most others. This means that your opinion bears little weight except to your own ego. Secondly, Disney lied. The good guy doesn’t always win. Remember Ned Stark from Game of Thrones? He’s the epitome of the phrase “the nice guy finishes last.”

So what to do? The answer is simple.

No it’s not. In the real world, answers are rarely simple. That is why we have great social and economic debates. Rather, what you will be doing, whether you like it or not, is grow up, swallow your pride, and play the game. Here are your potential moves:

1. Switch from Team Bernie to Team Hillary. Who knows? She may even choose your beloved Sanders as her running mate. She and Bernie DO share many of the same views. They differ in how these should be done.

2. Support Ted or Trump instead. Neither will look out for you, or give two shits about you, but at least Trump is just as anti-establishment as anyone. After all, he never intended to make it this far. This campaign of his was a protest campaign and nothing more. It’s no secret.

3. Protest Vote and write Bernie in. Good luck with that. He didn’t get enough votes to secure the democratic nomination. Think he’ll get enough write-ins to win the presidency?

4. Don’t vote at all because your guy didn’t win. Be a child and say, “I’m not winning! I quit!” It’s your right, after all.

Those are your choices. Yes, I know princess, real life is tough, but all games require strategy to get what you want and what you think is important. There is give and take, and as you can see, Bernie or Bust is really a naïve and babyish notion, so options 3 and 4 accomplish nothing. Option 2 is tolerable if you can stomach Ted or Trump, and option 1 is the next best thing to Bernie, though you’d have to support a seasoned politician to get what you want. So which do you choose?

With luck, perhaps, Bernie will get the nomination, and you will be allowed to put off reality a while longer and continue living in your bubble of idealism. Just remember, nothing is meant to last, and bubbles burst.

BTW.....#feelthebern