Who's the serious candidate here?
Imagine an extraterrestrial intelligence who came near enough to our solar system to notice Earth and the political struggles taking place there, specifically in the richest and most powerful section of that planet:
The Republicans are nervously trying to diminish the influence of Donald Trump upon their rotten field of presidential aspirants. That pathetic effort is all over the news, as if the soul of America and the future of the world depend on whether a loose cannon speaking the dark yearnings of millions of fearful bigots can be any worse than an establishment toady who still wants to "dismantle Obamacare" for no other reason than political bashing.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is the presumptive nominee, mentioned every hour in the press either as the First Female President or as the foil for the Republican circus. Martin O'Malley in any other universe would have at least as much ink and face time as any three of the Repubs, being more reasonable and competent than all of them.
Bernie Sanders, characterized by most of the media as a cranky but lovable old guy on the left, has gained some press only in that he's drawing big crowds and being a Socialist. He's used by the Republicans as the standard for Where We Never Will Go, and therefore a millstone around Hillary's neck to the extent she proposes any progressive policies.
Assuming this ET would study enough history of the human species and its planetary home to figure out what is being proposed and represented by each of these candidates for the most important leadership position, what would be the conclusion of such a study? Who is really the "serious" candidate? Is it enough to whip people into a frenzy of fear of others on the planet who are suffering from a bad system of resource management? Is it enough to vow to maintain the "exceptionalism" of the rich and powerful country so comfort and convenience can be maintained? Is it enough to resist the growing knowledge that inequality around the globe is dangerous to both social and physical environments? Is it enough to take massive amounts of money from those who don't want to face needed changes, yet give standard political solutions as campaign promises?
I support Bernie Sanders, and believe that he's bold enough in his message to be the only serious candidate for US President. Asking American voters to reject the prevailing and well-funded "conventional wisdom" seems out on the fringe from where most of us sit, but if you think about what the ET would discover from a careful survey of Earth's history, it's the decision that must be made sooner or later, and "later" may be too late.
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