During a commencement speech for Brooklyn College in New York, Bernie Sanders spoke about a social-studies lesson at his high school, which is not far from where he was delivering his remarks.
There, decades ago, Sanders learned the meaning of “oligarchy” — a political system where the elites hold power and the poor bear the costs. “It never occurred to me, as a kid in Brooklyn, that the United States of America, our great nation, could move in that direction,” he said.
The independent US senator from Vermont, who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, grew up in a working-class, immigrant family, and attended Brooklyn College for a year before transferring to the University of Chicago.
Without ever naming Donald Trump, Sanders railed against him and his fellow Republicans, in a short, fiery, campaign-style speech, at Barclays Center today (May 30). He implored 2017 graduates to be involved, underlining it as their moral responsibility.