Jeremy Corbyn, Man of the Moment; Bernie Sanders, Man of the Moment Lost

Saturday, I woke to the welcome news that Jeremy Corbyn, who was catapulted to the leadership of the Labour Party in Britain a year ago, had won yet another leadership battle—brought on by disgruntled Members of Parliament within his own party—by extending his extraordinary mandate: he received a whopping 62% of votes to the 38% of his establishment opponent, Owen Smith.

In the year since Corbyn first assumed the mantle of the Labour Party, having begun his campaign at odds of 200 to 1, he has been attacked by the British Press in ways subtle and blatant, and by members of his own Shadow Cabinet, many of whom resigned, calling Corbyn a ‘weak’ leader who lacked what it took to bring Labour to victory over the Tories.

As an interested outsider, I followed Corbyn’s progress from afar, and noted the deviousness of the calumnies laid against him. In fact, Corbyn has, to my own astonishment, been a principled and unwavering exponent of basic socialist values; values which he has championed for forty years as a back-bencher. He brought an influx of new members into the party that has now made it the largest political party in Western Europe. He is anti-austerity, anti-war, pro-NHS and pro-democracy.

I have watched how his adherence to a democratic process within the party itself was often derided as weakness by those who felt he should have been more autocratic. And, no doubt, as he champions decent wages, the nationalisation of railroads and a cap on the earnings of the ultra-wealthy, he will be viciously attacked again.

Yet here he is, having withstood the rebellion within, with even stronger support to continue to fight for a more equitable, just and democratic society. His ascendance has been one of the few political bright spots on the world scene, and it suggests that the people—those who are tired of the platitudes of the ‘centre-right’ and the policies that are creating greater and greater disparities of justice and wealth—are gathering steam to take their own.

For a brief look at the man and what he espouses, click here.

I have also, from my perch in New Zealand, followed the trajectory of Bernie Sanders who has similarly galvanised youth and catalysed a movement for social change and has even succeeded in bringing the ‘s’ word—socialism—into American political discourse. The Democratic National Committee rigged the process against him, yet still he pressed on.

However, with his endorsement of Hillary Clinton, who stands for virtually everything he campaigned against, Sanders capitulated, and with such capitulation has undone virtually everything positive he had hitherto accomplished. If ever there was a moment for America to have been given another choice—and remember that Jill Stein of the Green Party had suggested a joining of forces with Sanders—this was it. The established Democratic Party, which is really just a different wing of the monopolistic duopoly that masquerades as political choice in America, will certainly not continue the grassroots ‘revolution’ he began.

As Shakespeare wrote, through the voice of Brutus in Julius Caesar (Act 4, Scene 3):

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

Bernie missed the boat. But Jeremy Corbyn, thankfully, remains at the helm.

Here’s hoping he succeeds.

Dr. Garcia is a Philadelphia-born poet, novelist and physician who resides in New Zealand.

He may be contacted at emanuelegarcia@gmail.com.