Commentary: What is cause for celebration today?

What is there to rejoice over on our nation’s founding anniversary? The world’s third richest guy renting out Venice for a wedding worth $50 million? Is the biggest wealth transfer to the top 1% in modern history being quietly passed by Congress?

It’s normal to criticize the current situation, yet offering the most mild fixes could lead to you being labeled a socialist. However, given the severity of income disparity, do the establishment’s scare tactics still work? Perhaps the scarlet letter has just become a badge of honor for a Democratic socialist assemblymember from New York State. Voters in New York City showed out in force for the Democratic primary for mayor last week, and Zohran Mamdani won by a 12-point margin. Bernie Sanders, AOC’s inclusive policies, massive demonstrations, universal this, and for all that are examples of this that we have already witnessed. Even while the progressive playbook is available, Mamdani’s messaging is unique.

Though he may support nearly the same causes as his progressive contemporaries, Mamdani has a voice that makes it impossible for opponents to ignore. The bulk of people, in actuality, cannot even afford to exist. Mamdani is fighting for a city we can afford, while Bernie Sanders urged fans to fight for someone they don’t know. One could argue that voters could disregard their neighbors, but could they overlook their own survival needs? Only one of their messages can resonate with even the most disillusioned among us, despite the fact that both of them criticize the existing quo and view capitalism as becoming more and more problematic.

Many people still find the wealthy fascinating because they want to be one of them eventually. However, being a billionaire is statistically very unlikely. Therefore, leftists frequently criticize the presence of billionaires as unethical, and to make matters worse, we might live to see one of them become a trillionaire. Nearly everyone in our nation is actually on the verge of poverty rather than prosperity, and they will probably labor paycheck to paycheck for the majority of their adult lives while running the risk of losing their homes. However, some people still identify as capitalists because they support capitalism so strongly. Imagine identifying as a capitalist in this economy, where your sole means of subsistence is to work for others. In that case, where is the freedom?

nearly always, capitalism entails the ability to select between the third Superman remake and Jurassic Park 7, but it nearly never entails the ability to live without worrying about poverty. We may witness the biggest dismantling of the social safety net since the program’s inception 60 years ago as a result of the proposed comprehensive Medicaid cuts.

Some people might assume that Medicaid cuts do not impact those without the program. But if every hospital in your community needs that money, what will you do if they close? A healthy society requires both empathy and individual protection. For this reason, in the event of an emergency, you are told to put on your own oxygen mask on an airplane before helping others, even children. The plane is currently falling down. What’s the message that will save us?

While a campaign like Zohran Mamdani’s can win anyplace, a candidate like Mamdani may not be able to win everywhere.

Joe Biden promised to cure cancer if elected. Trump declared that he will put an end to the conflict in Ukraine right away. But here we are. People can believe whatever they want, and politicians can say whatever they want, but the reality almost always tells a different tale.

I frequently recall how the mayor of the 1975 movie Jaws assured everyone that it was okay to return to the ocean and continued to serve in that capacity in the follow-up. Elections are won by propaganda, not by change. Results and evidence may not matter. You only need to compare the cost of eggs to the president’s approval rating.

Imagine, however, that after Election Day, our government truly worked for all of us, that our leaders were forthright about the problems we confront, and that they offered us the remedies we need. That would be reason to rejoice.

Nerd Nite is hosted by director Ricardo Williams.