There was no doubt in anyone's mind who Sen. Bernie Sanders was when he took the stage Thursday morning to give the 58th Green Lecture at Westminster College.
While his speech on foreign policy lasted about an hour, students and other audience members remained engaged, often interrupting him with cheers of "We love you, Bernie," and at the end, giving him two standing ovations and chanting his name.
Sanders, I-Vt., now joins other historical Green Lecture speakers including Sir Winston Churchill, who spoke more than 70 years ago and inspired a museum on the campus. The senator referenced Churchill and his historic Iron Curtain speech several times, but added today's world is very different than 1946.
"We face real threats, but they are very different than what we have seen in the past, and our response must also be different," Sanders said.
He also said the goal of the United States shouldn't be to dominate the world, but rather, America should foster global engagement based on partnership.
"There is a truth you don't often hear about - but it is a truth we must face," Sanders added. "American intervention leads to unintended consequences (and) has created incalculable harm."
He spoke of American involvement in the 1953 overthrow of an elected government in Iran and installation of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States. The Shah was then overthrown in 1979 in favor of the Islamic Republic of Iran led by Ayatollah Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini.
Sanders also spoke of a U.S.-backed 1973 coup in Chile putting in place Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Pincohet ruled for several decades and is said to have executed up to 3,200 people and interred as many as 80,000.
Unsettled events also followed in South American countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala, Sanders said. America also became involved in the Vietnam War.
"Never forget 58,000 young, brave Americans died in that war," said Sanders, who applied for conscientious objector status during that conflict while he was a college student.
When the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, Sanders said it undermined stability in that region.
"Iraq was at the heart of the Middle East and this ended the regional order," he added. "It unleashed forces we will be dealing with for decades to come. These are just a few examples of foreign policy and intervention."
Loss of heart
Sanders said he's concerned about how Americans and people in other democracies are losing heart.
"Many of us are losing faith in our country and Democratic values," he said. "Far too many people are giving up on promises of self government. People all over the world are losing faith.
"At the top of my list - we must revitalize American democracy so it reflects the interest of the majority of our people, and not just the few," he said.
One way to do that is for everyday people of all economic backgrounds to travel and talk, he added.
"I strongly believe not only do we need to begin a vigorous debate, but broaden our understanding of foreign policy," he said.
Many would equate "foreign policy" with "military strength," but Sanders said that would be a narrow-minded grasp of what foreign policy should actually be. Confronting violent extremism with more violence is not working, he said, pointing out worldwide terrorist attacks, 7,000 American soldier deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq, and unsettled, persecuted populations across the globe.
Sanders expressed his desire to offer people a vision of a planet where international conflicts will be resolved peacefully, "not by mass murder," he said, later adding, "Dialogues and debate is far preferable than bombs and poison gas and war."
Sanders also mentioned a Republican desire to increase military spending. This is occuring, he said, at the same time Republican-backed health care proposals would toss "32 million Americans off the health insurance they currently have because supposedly they are worried about the budget deficit."
He added Republicans also want to cut education, environmental protections, and needs of children and senior citizens.
The senator listed challenges he thinks people need to address.
Climate change: "Frankly, it's time to get serious about climate change. This is not just an environmental issue, this is a foreign policy issue. Scientists have said climate change is real and caused by human activity. If we do not act boldly, the planet will see more extreme weather, mass immigration and global instability."
He chided Republican President Donald Trump for saying America will pull out of the Global Climate Change Initiative.
"President Trump's (withdrawal is) incredibly foolish and shortsighted, but it will also hurt the American economy," Sanders said.
Wealth inequality: One percent of the world's population holds more wealth than the other 99 percent combined, Sanders said. This means these people and corporations lessen diversity by controlling industries including the media and medicine.
"There is no moral or economic justification for the six wealthiest people in the world having as much wealth as the bottom half of the world's population, 3.7 billion people," he said.
Terrorism: "The global war on terrorism is a disaster for the American people," Sanders said. "It's allowed a few thousand people to dictate policy to us. It's caused us to undermine our own moral stance. We must rethink the old Washington mindset to use force. Yes, military force is sometimes necessary, but only as a last resort."
Military and political leaders need to consider the consequences of military action, Sanders said. ISIS probably would not exist if the United States hadn't invaded Iraq, he added
"The Iraq War was intended to demonstrate American power, but instead, it demonstrated (our) weakness," he said.
The nuclear nonproliferation agreement with Iran: "The Iran agreement removed the threat and showed real leadership and real power, and that was accomplished without the loss of one life," Sanders said. "There is a four-year record of Iran's compliance. We must protect this agreement. President Trump signaled his intention to walk away from this. This would be a serious mistake."
Deserting international agreements and organizations indeed sends a signal to the world that America could back out of anything, Sanders stressed.
"Why would any country in the world want to sign an agreement with us if they know an irresponsible president and Congress would walk away a few years later?" he said. "The worst thing you could do is walk away."
North Korea: Sanders criticized North Korean leaders for using an entire country and its population for their own gain.
"They sacrifice the welfare of their own people and create nukes to protect the Kim family regime," he said.
The role of the United States, Sanders added, should be to build consensus among nations, perhaps using the model of the United Nations, to solve the North Korea problem.
"It's a shared problem not to be solved by one country, but among the world community," he said.
Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were the two major Democratic candidates vying for the party's nomination for president in 2016. Clinton won 34 state contests while Sanders won 23 states. During his speech Thursday, he didn't mention Clinton.
To view a recording of Sanders' speech, visit youtube.com/watch?v=RuiPFcGHQQc.