The first US Democratic presidential debate has reminded us that America’s “culture of violence” controls Washington’s policies and prompts US leaders to wage wars to gain more power, an American writer and activist says.

Mickey Z., the author of Occupy This Book and Occupy These Photos, says that the way Democratic presidential contenders put forward their plans for the future of America is indicative of a “necrophilic culture” that must be “dismantled before there is nothing left to save.”

“It certainly is a reminder of how deeply ingrained this violent culture is, how deeply ingrained the patriarchal culture is in the United States,” he said.

The analyst added that during the debate, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “puffed themselves up and competed over who is more willing to rain down military violence upon this group, or this nation or that nation.”

The activist censured Sanders for trying to gain support among the American public through pretending to have a socialist and thus facing attacks of being “soft.”

“Sanders is clever enough to use the fake title of socialist to position himself as an outsider, but also smart enough to know that that title will get him labeled as soft,” he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mickey Z. accused Clinton of adopting a violent rhetoric in a bid to make her more appealing to the Americans.

“As a woman, Hillary has it even worse, because she will have to ramp up the violence to perhaps new levels in order to prove herself worthy of the office that she seeks,” he maintained.

He said the former first lady’s situation reminds him of her husband and former US President Bill Clinton’s campaign in 1992, where he had to prove his toughness by bearing witness to the State execution of a mentally disabled prisoner.