Bernie Sanders' 1979 Eugen Debs Documentary

[leftcoastmountains]

[merrily]

1. Hi, lcm. This documentary, made by Sanders, is yet another example of his consistency and

sincerity.

At the time he made this documentary, he had probably given up on politics. In any case, it was highly unlikely that he was thinking of running for President. He was taking a stand because he believed in it and not because he thought it would help "sell" his run for office to unions and labor.

Liberty Union campaigns

Sanders began his political career in 1971 as a member of the Liberty Union Party, which originated in the anti-war and people's party movement. He ran as the Liberty Union candidate for governor in 1972 and 1976 and as a candidate for senator in 1972 and 1974.[37] In the 1974 race, Sanders finished third (5,901; 4.1%) behind the victor, 33-year-old Chittenden County State's Attorney Patrick Leahy (D, VI; 70,629; 49.4%), and two-term incumbent U.S. Representative Dick Mallary (R; 66,223; 46.3%).[38][39] In 1979, Sanders resigned from the party and worked as a writer and the director of the nonprofit American People's Historical Society.[40] While with the APHS, he made a 30-minute documentary about American Socialist leader and presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs.[26][41]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders

[leftcoastmountains]

2. Thank you for that information.

Last edited Tue Sep 8, 2015, 02:25 AM - Edit history (1)

I found the documentary interesting.

Right after this documentary another video follows on
C-Span doing a piece on Mr. Debs. They show footage
of Debs not just photos. They are broadcasting from his home
in Indiana. It's called, The Contenders. This was a series in 2012
about people who ran for president and lost, but who they thought
changed political history.

[merrily]

3. You're very welcome.

[JDPriestly]

4. Interesting how things like the right to unionize, to protest a war,

to vote if you are a woman were at one time shocking socialist ideas.

So many of the ideas that Debs advocated later became a part of the American way of life. The minimum wage.

We don't always know our history as well as we think we do.

A lot of the rhetoric, especially the discussion about workers taking over their workplaces, however, never became reality and the language sounds very dated.

But Eugene Debs' almost religious view of himself as no better than anyone else, as one with others and his view that he as a politician should serve others selflessly seem to have influenced Bernie. Bernie also seems unique in his humility and unselfish service.

Very interesting history.