august: cleveland county

The Democratic primary race, which features two well-qualified candidates, has at times become a race centered on language and the words which Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders use to describe themselves and their campaigns. This is coupled with wider rhetoric about how we view America and what kind of country and society we live in, along with the society and country we want to see.

Source: Sanders Campaign Website

"Revolution" is a word that the Sanders campaign is fond of using to set itself apart from the other candidates on both sides of the aisle. It signifies that a Sanders presidency would be a significant departure from previous presidencies. This plays into the American idea that revolution is inherently good. Since we were children, we all learned about the American revolution and how this was a wonderful thing because it paved the way for the United States to become its own country. The American narrative, however, typically leaves out the detail that most revolutions are unsuccessful and do not lead to democratic societies. Even if a revolution is successful in ousting a group from power, the fall-out is often too much for the revolutionaries to take. Factions form, and at times the end result is another government much the same or worse than before in terms of freedom and democracy. The French Revolution of 1789, the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Confederate States of America, and the Arab Spring are all examples of revolutions that did not improve everyone's lives and made things much worse in some cases.

The word "socialist" makes me very uncomfortable when I hear it in this campaign cycle. This is because when I lived in Eastern Germany, I was corrected more than once when I said that the area used to be communist. The people who lived in the German Democratic Republic were convinced that their old system was authoritarian socialism. Now, the addition of the word "democratic" in from of "socialist" makes a world of difference. It's the difference between the government paying your neighbors to spy on you and being free to say what you wish. Here are Sanders's remarks on his view of democratic socialism.

Finally, the word "progressive" has been put through the wringer in the past few weeks. What is a progressive? Who deserves to use this word? Both Sanders and Clinton self-identify as progressives. If you google the word, the first thing that comes up is an insurance company. NPR, The Atlantic, and The New York Times have all tried to define the word recently. I always think of the Progressive movement in the US at the start of the 20th century:

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