Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/781086
O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 I n a february 2016 interview, ABC News correspondent Barbara Walters asked Sen. Bernie Sanders, then a leading candidate for presi- dent, "In one word, what would you want to be known for?" His answer, "compassion." Entering the disconcerting world of a new administration and Congress stacked with advocates of austerity and inflicting more pain on working people, it's worth contrasting the differing vision of Bernie Sanders with so many of those who will be defining public policy in the months ahead. In the months and days since the November election, Sanders has repeatedly reminded all of us of the broad vision of social, economic, and environmental justice that defined his campaign and animated so many millions of his supporters, especially among younger people who are the future of our nation. He has said he will never back down from fighting for healthcare for all; expanding educational opportunity through free public college tuition; challenging the grotesque income and wealth inequality that stains our nation; holding Wall Street, big corpora- tions, and the super wealthy accountable; reforming our broken political and criminal justice system; and so much more. It's why when so many in the Democratic Party establishment seem to be in shock and disarray, Sanders has emerged as the leading voice for not just defending the rights we have won and challenging those who promote and encourage the scourge of bigotry and hatred. It also means advancing a progressive alternative for the tens of millions who feel disenchanted and aban- doned by a corporate class that dominates both major political parties. Speaking at a campaign town hall in South Carolina last winter, Sanders defined his moral code that drives his work in spiritual tones. "Every great religion in the world— Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism— essentially comes down to: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' And what I have believed in my whole life—I believed it when I was a 22-year-old kid getting arrested in Chicago fighting segrega- tion—I've believed it in my whole life. "That we are in this together—not just, not words. The truth is at some level when you hurt, when your children hurt, I hurt. I hurt. And when my kids hurt, you hurt. And it's very easy to turn our backs on kids who are hungry, or veterans who are sleep- ing out on the street, and we can develop a psyche, a psychology which is 'I don't have to worry about them; all I'm gonna worry about is myself; I need to make another 5 billion dollars.' But I believe that when we do the right thing, when we try to treat people with respect and dignity, when we say that that child who is hungry is my child…I think we are more human when we do that, than when we say 'Hey, this whole world, I need more and more, I don't care about anyone else.' That's my religion. That's what I believe in." The contrast with so many who will be leading public policy in the months and years ahead could not be more clear. Nominees for the incoming Cabinet are the ultimate billionaires club, those who have put accumulation of massive wealth ahead of the broader social good. They include a Health and Human Servic- es Secretary who wants to privatize Medicare that would price countless numbers of our nation's elderly out of access to care, and has repeatedly voted to reduce support for women's and children's health programs. A Labor Secretary who opposed paid sick leave and overtime pay policies, fought minimum wage increases, runs restaurant chains littered with sexual harassment claims, and hopes to see machines take away the jobs of workers because "they are always polite, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex, or race discrimination case." A Defense Secretary who says that women and lesbian, gay, and transgender people are harmful to our armed services. A Housing and Urban Development Secretary who says safety net programs create "a hammock that lulls able- bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency, that drains them of their will and their incentive to make the most of their lives." An Environmental Protection Agency Secretary who has sued to block rules that limit environmental pollution and programs to reduce the impact of climate change that is so destructive to the future of our planet and people. A Treasury Secretary who oversaw the aggressive foreclosure of the homes of tens of thousands of elderly and low-income individuals and families. An Attorney General who has mocked those who fight for civil rights, supported efforts to reduce voting rights, and turned a cold heart to immigrants struggling to make a better life for themselves and their families. Compassion, the guidepost for Bernie Sanders, is the moral suasion of nurses as well, of course, one reason his vision and prescription of change has resonated with so many nurses. As we launch into the difficult challenges ahead, we know which path should guide our own work, and how to build the coali- tions and our own vision for change. RoseAnn DeMoro is executive director of National Nurses United. RoseAnn DeMoro Executive Director, National Nurses United The Golden Rule Sanders' and nurses' shared vision of compassion must drive our challenging work ahead "I believe that when we do the right thing, when we try to treat people with respect and dignity, when we say that that child who is hungry is my child . . . I think we are more human when we do that."