The mark of a noble life is the courage to challenge adversity. We all get hammered - betrayal and deceit are now bold signatures in American life as our culture declines.

And then there are birth defects, bad parents, accidents, medical complications, and inexplicable suffering; losing a child, being harmed by a criminal.

It is natural and healthy to go negative when something bad happens to us. But then, after the grieving time is over, the strong person begins the quest to overcome.

The problem is most human beings are not inherently strong. And many turn grieving into permanent grievance. They live lives of bitterness and look for opportunities to exploit their situations. Sometimes they become emotional vigilantes: I've been wronged, so I can do whatever I want (looting).

Enter the grievance mongers, politicians who cater to Americans who refuse to battle their negative circumstances. Those folks are soft targets for cynical manipulators. Hitler gained power by pandering to Germans, beaten down by the depression. He blamed their struggles on Jews and Communists. We all know how that turned out.

Today in our country, Senator Bernie Sanders is the grievance king. Elizabeth Warren and Al Sharpton are right behind him. But Sanders is the worst.

He understands that his socialist agenda has failed everywhere in the world. And he doesn't even walk the walk. Sanders lives a life of comfort and privilege; three homes and millions in assets.

And he didn't earn that in the marketplace. Much of his money comes from his wife's dubious educational career. You can look it up.

Sanders is an expert at demonizing the affluent, demanding the federal government seize their assets. He frames that as "economic justice," a bogus theory that puts forth that the "have-nots" are entitled to a massive amount of free stuff their fellow countrymen will be forced to fund.

This message is now the central tenet of the progressive movement, which has made deep inroads into the African-American community and with younger voters.

Sanders, Warren, and Sharpton are dangerous people who have no respect for private property, self-reliance, or accomplishment. They are dividers, exploiting personal jealousy and peddling a distorted picture of America - a country that provides more opportunity than any other.

Bernie Sanders will never acknowledge that because it would diminish his power base. Instead, he and his cohort in the Senate, Warren, use their platforms to stoke grievances and discourage individual effort.

The Sanders-Progressive movement is a plague upon the land. Horribly, the corporate media is enabling the contagion, and so we are witnessing a profound division in our society.

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders sits in his Lake Champlain chateau, thinking up more ways to tear down capitalism and discourage personal resilience.

He poses as the champion of the underdog. But what he really wants is what you have. And, aided by a corrupt leftist media, he's on a determined quest to get it.