Tony Brasunas

It is a rare, historic moment right now in the United States. There is a political movement to take our democracy back from the giant corporations that have been running things, a movement aligned with the great progressive movements of history, a movement to tackle society’s most pressing problems, a movement to spread wealth and power more broadly among the American people.

In this rare moment, Double Happiness is proud to make its first-ever political endorsement: Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.

Here are four reasons Bernie Sanders and this movement are uniquely positioned to do great things for this country and our planet.

1. Bernie Sanders doesn’t accept corporate contributions or run a “Super PAC” to bundle corporate money. In our corrupted political landscape, this is amazingly rare, essentially unique. Because of this, Bernie Sanders will be able to be his own president and not be beholden to the giant banks and corporations that normally fund candidates’ campaigns for office. This will enable him to take action nimbly and powerfully — and for the right things. If President Bernie Sanders is sitting in the Oval Office wondering whether to enforce a particular law, nominate a judge, or sign a piece of legislation, he will think not whether a giant bank would approve of his actions but whether the funders of his campaign — ordinary people — would approve.
2. Bernie Sanders sees war as a last option in foreign affairs. He voted against both Iraq Wars, doesn’t support escalation in Syria, Libya, or Iran, and just doesn’t see “regime change” as a valid reason to start wars. He will be even-handed with Israel and Palestine. This approach is desperately needed for peace and understanding to prevail in the Middle East and around the globe.
3. Bernie Sanders sees climate change, global warming, and environmental degradation as not just financial or ecological concerns but as the great moral emergencies of our time. He will ban fracking entirely and swiftly shift our energy systems away from coal, oil, gas, and nuclear generation towards clean solar and wind energy. He is clearer and far more aggressive on this critical issue than any of the other candidates.
4. Bernie Sanders has been fighting his whole life for those who have little, who face discrimination, who struggle in poverty. His policies on racial justice are transformative, and his ideas to bring economic justice to the poor and middle class are, frankly, revolutionary: universal healthcare, tuition-free public university, $15-per-hour minimum wage, paid family and maternal leave, expanded social security, and millions of public jobs to rebuild infrastructure and construct renewable energy plants. What’s most remarkable is that his ideas aren’t dreams — they’re all already supported by a majority of Americans. And he has concrete financial and legislative plans for how to institute each one.

I’ve recently written several detailed articles for Huffington Post about the race and about Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. I do care deeply indeed that the truth be known; this is a campaign against a firmly entrenched establishment, so nothing about it is easy. The hardest things in life, of course, are often the most worthwhile.

As you’ll remember from my journeys in Double Happiness, I was politically naive as a 23-year-old. I defended the United States as a benign actor on the world stage. I have since learned much about the role the U.S. has played in many overt and covert wars, and yet I remain a patriot in what I believe is the best sense of the word: I hold my country to its ideals and I will settle for nothing less than my country living up to its potential. A Bernie Sanders Administration would be the first in a very long time to bring American actions overseas more inline with what the idealistic me always thought they were, and it will allow this country to do what we all ultimately are here to do: grow, learn, and bloom.

For your local community, for this country, for our planet, it’s time to take a stand. Bernie Sanders for President.