My Bernie Sanders Love Letter
There are few people who have influenced me as much as Bernie Sanders. He speaks to what I believe in. He lives his life how I strive to live mine. As a human being he is someone to look up to, as a politician he truly is one-of-a-kind.
That’s why I went to a rally of his. Normally, I don’t get why people would go hear someone speak when you already know what they stand for, and you know they aren’t going to say anything new. I went because I wanted to feel the emotion of standing in the same room as him, and others, who are fighting for someone they don’t know.
With Bernie, it is so much more than politics. It’s more than what he stands for. It’s who he is. It’s the hope that more politicians will fight corruption and stand by the average person, simply because it’s the right thing to do. It’s hard to find someone as authentic and caring as Bernie, much less a politician. Even when I disagreed with something he said, or how he said it, I at least knew he was well intentioned. When he made mistakes, they were honest mistakes.
He reached me at an impressionable time in my life. In the summer of 2015, when I first heard of the old, independent senator from Vermont, I was just 22 years old. He brought me into the political landscape, but he did so much more for me personally.
Up to that point in my life, sports is how I defined myself. Playing them in high school and writing about them in college. Thanks to Bernie, I’m focused on more important things now.
He taught me that doing the right thing is often the tough thing. Standing up to those in power is something we need to admire, and expect, from each other. I hold those in power to high standards, and hold those who represent us to high standards as a result.
I also hold myself to a higher standard because of Bernie. It’s my responsibility to be an informed voter. It’s my responsibility to stand up for others, and use my privilege to help those fighting for basic necessities. Bernie is the definition of a public servant, and even though I hold no public office, I want to be a public servant too.
It was crushing when he lost the 2016 primary to Hillary Clinton. But it also gave me real hope, and showed there is power when the powerless come together.
This past Wednesday, when he dropped out of the 2020 primary, I cried the entire day. Even with it clear that Joe Biden was going to have a plurality going into the convention, I still had hope. It was obvious Bernie’s policies were winning with voters.
Now, as I reflect on the past two presidential runs, the change in myself, and the change in society, I’m conflicted. I know that like myself, a lot of people have become more engaged in politics because of Bernie. I know we support the right policies and the right agenda. But it’s still going to be an uphill battle to make things like a $15 minimum wage, free public higher-education, and a universal healthcare system a reality.
As thankful as I am to Bernie Sanders, and as much as I owe him for changing my life and improving the lives of others, it’s time we move on. I’m going to carry all the emotions I felt this week with me, and I’m going to continue and fight for someone I don’t know. And I know I won’t be alone in doing so.
To the people who read this and don’t understand the emotions I’m going through, I ask you to think about why that is. Why is it that an entire generation of people are standing up to those in power and demanding fair treatment. Why is it that a single person, from the small state of Vermont, has changed the lives of so many.
