America- the land of opportunity, millions of immigrants linning the streets, hoping for a new life. The streets are lined with wealth. People went from rags to riches, in real life Cinderella stories.

Unfortunately, the America we live in is no longer the one everyone wishes it was.

For the richest nation in the world, we are the lowest in social mobility in the developed world. We rank 21st in the world for personal freedom. We are ranked 4th highest in the world for income inequality, trailing only Russia, Ukraine, and Lebanon. We have the highest amount of income inequality in the developed world.

We used to be number 1 in all of these things. Under a progressive government, we became the most powerful country on the planet. With the most wealth, the best education, and the strongest middle class the world had ever seen.

So what changed everything?

In 1980, Ronald Reagan and the Conservatives took control of the United States government. He introduced a fiscal conservative tax plan called “Reaganomics” that caused a boom in the 1980s. After his presidency, however, everything fell apart. The debt skyrocketed, and America declined economically, and is steadily continuing in a downward spiral.

However, we can change our course. We can adapt and evolve, like Europe has, namely, Scandinavia. The countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden use a model of free market capitalism that insures income inequality, with strong middle classes and a large degree of social freedom.

It is known as Social Democracy, or more commonly known in the United States as Democratic Socialism. It is the pinnacle of Free Market societies, with almost complete personal and social freedom and a large amount of economic freedom.

But alas, the people of the United States are hesitant to employ such programs. But why? Why are we so hesitant to make ourselves the land of the free again?

The answer to that question is the result of a 53 year arms race with a Communist East, and close to a century long “Red Scare” which has made the term “socialist” a dirty word in these United States.

But is it really socialism? If we take after Scandinavia, will we see a future where we march in lockstep praising the comrade commissar in the People’s Republic of North America?

Or will we simply see a return to the New Deal that FDR proposed, which left us as the freest, most educated, wealthiest, and most powerful nation on the face of the earth?

We as a public must ask ourselves these questions, and choose the right leader for the United States. Who is this person who can bring us a better future?

The answer: Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Senator Sanders, commonly known as “Bernie” or “The Socialist” is a 74 year old senator from Vermont who is one of the few politicians who understands the meaning of democratic socialism.

When Americans think of the word socialism, even when it involves democratic socialism, they think of the Communist societies of Eastern Europe and Asia with whom we fought a bitter economic, military, and cultural struggle in the 20th century.

This is absolutely not the case. The cultural and economic tenets of democratic socialism resemble the Western Democracies more than they do the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

For one, the culture of Democratic socialism and the Eastern Communists are very different. The Cold War Era east embraced Marxism as their culture, where everyone is equal, and where possessions are property of the state. It was supposed to guarantee everyone equality and prosperity, but it simply left the common people in the same spot that they were in before communism: dirt poor and slaves to a power elite.

In the Soviet Union, the majority lived in poverty while the 1% thrived even more. Instead of CEO’s and corporations being the 1% however, they were major government officials.

In democratic socialism, the culture resembles democracies of Western Europe and North America, but less “every man for himself” and more “work together as a nation”.

The economy of Marxist Socialism and Democratic Socialism is also very different. In Marxist societies, the economy is usually a command economy, meaning that businesses, factories, and even private property belong to the state. Meaning, if you lived in a Marxist society, your own home would be property of the state.

In a Democratic Socialist society, the economy is a market economy, which is the type of Economy the USA, Great Britain, Canada, and Western Europe use as their economy. It emphasizes free trade and private property.

Bernie Sanders knows this, and could educate millions of Americans on democratic socialism. Bernie does not want to turn us into a Communist People’s Republic. He simply wants to bring us back to a post world war 2 economy.In the 40’s, we got the New Deal. Bernie is going to give it back to us.

In an America divided, where there are not many people in power who are looking for the American public, Senator Sanders stands out. If we can elect him into office, we can set off a political revolution that will, as the preamble states, “secure the blessings of liberty, for ourselves and our posterity.”

So we as a people should stop buying into the fear. Let’s secure the future for our children, and our children’s children. Let’s not have them struggle to survive because we made mistakes that we could have prevented. Let’s make this country into the dream the founding fathers conceived over 250 years ago. Let’s make America the land of the opportunity once more.