Bernie brings in big Alpena crowd
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ALPENA -- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Vermont-I, visited Alpena on Monday as part of his Fighting Oligarchy tour across the United States. He took questions from a crowd and spoke about issues regarding healthcare, affordability, artificial intelligence (AI), and more.
He also voiced his support for Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat's candidate for one of Michigan's two senate seats in the U.S. Senate.
Sanders said at the beginning of his speech he wanted to hear what concerns Alpena residents have regarding the current landscape of American democracy and other issues.
"This afternoon, I'd like to do something that is not usually done by public officials," Sanders said. "I want to tell you the truth."
He said that the current American healthcare system is dysfunctional and that healthcare should be treated as a human right. He noted that a priority should be placed on primary care providers and ensuring that underserved areas have enough medical professionals to meet the needs of a community.
"The function of a rational healthcare system, the starting point, is, number one, healthcare is a human right, guaranteed for all people," he said.
"You’re living in the richest country in the history of the world, you're paying by far, more for healthcare than the people of any other country," Sanders added. "We don’t have enough doctors, especially in primary healthcare. We don’t have enough nurses. We don’t have enough psychologists. We don’t have enough dentists. Part of healthcare reform is not only guaranteeing health care to all people, it is making sure we have doctors and nurses in underserved areas."
He also spoke about his concerns regarding AI and the necessity for legislative action to control the trajectory AI is headed. He cited concerns of privacy, data centers moving into communities, and how AI will impact society on a cultural level.
"At the end of the day, I’d rather human beings control the future of this planet rather than artificial intelligence," he said. "Let me also say AI is doing some positive things in terms of health care and others, so it's not all bleak. But the issue is, who benefits on this development?"
He noted a growing phenomenon of young people using AI to learn for them in schools and to be their companions in lieu of human connection. He said this is a problem that the government needs to consider more seriously.
"Many of our kids ... are now having best friends who are AI bots, as their companions," he said. "What does it mean if young people are spending hour after hour on the screen talking about their personal life with a bot and not communicating with other human beings. What profound impact does that have on us as human beings in terms of how we relate to each other?"
Alpena Mayor Cindy Johnson spoke before Sanders' program and announced her support for El-Sayed and urged Alpena residents to vote.
"Sometimes we feel like we’re overlooked during election cycles, but not today," Johnson said. "Today, our voices matter, our communities matter, and nothing could be more important than this election, and we are ready."
"Our distinguished guest is here today to support Abdul El-Sayed and so am I," she added. "Abdul will fight for my constituents and for people across Michigan who are struggling to make ends meet."
"People who are trying to afford healthcare, gas, groceries, housing, utilities, with little relief in sight," Johnson said. "And it doesn’t matter which political party you belong to, these are not partisan issues. These are issues that affect people. Our families, our neighbors, and our communities. Abdul will fight for Michiganders, and in just eight days, we will have the opportunity to elect him as our next U.S. Senator ... We all know how divisive our politics have become."
"We are ready to stand up, to speak out, and to vote for change," Johnson added. "Enough is enough."
Alpena High School student Colin Hainstock asked Sanders about the use of AI in classrooms and if he believes AI is beneficial for learning.
"Historically, in America and I suspect around the world, young people have been smarter ... than their parents. They’ve been better educated than their parents. What we’re seeing right now is pretty scary, " Sanders said,
"We’re seeing reading scores in decline. Kids are not reading as well as their parents did," he added. "Kids’ attention spans are greatly declining ... kids can’t sit still for 45 minutes."
"Teachers are no longer ... asking their kids to read novels," he said. "They’re too long. Kids can’t handle a long novel ... your brain is a muscle, like the rest of your body."
"Learning is not easy. You have to struggle," he added.
Sanders told The News following the event that he appreciated the participation from community members and the support Northeast Michigan showed him on Monday.
"For a town of 10,000, we had some 900 people coming out here today in an area where I think President Donald Trump won overwhelmingly. So, that to me was pretty impressive. I think there is a lot of concern about the actions of the Trump administration ... I very much appreciated 900 people coming out."
The News asked Sanders if he would support continued federal support for the protection of Michigan's Great Lakes. He said that he believes protecting the nation's environment should be a priority, in general.
"We’ve got to protect our environment in general. We’ve got to protect our waterways, whether its oceans or lakes ... we have to make sure that there are federal resources available."
Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.