This millennial is a proud participant of the Political Revolution.
Once you go Bernie, you never go back—at least not with the same amount of enthusiasm.
The zeal and energy of Bernie supporters is what sparked my initial interest in his campaign. My college friends share so many videos of him, his policies, his record of consistency and his so-called predicting the future (which, let's just call his pragmatism and ability to think long-term).
I love his platform, I agree with essentially everything on his website, and I love the inclusivity of his campaign. Some might argue that he is exclusionary towards the upper class. I'm against that notion, and I say that Bernie welcomes them too. To criticize economic inequality, the underhanded actions of Wall Street, Corporations, and Big Banks, and money in politics is not to hate those who are better off. A criticism is not a condemnation. It's an examination.
This is where Bernie shines and where the people of the political revolution get inspired. It's the looking deeper at issues and seeing what can be done. This is also why his movement is so important. From Bernie's critical questioning of injustice and fight to expose issues where he sees them, going beyond just discussions to more concrete action and involvement has become a driving point.
Standing as a Senator who is not afraid to bring attention to problems with an exclusionary system of politics, Bernie has energized and awoken millennials. And it is very exciting to be aware of that. He has made it imperative to look beyond the surface at what is being said and to see what is going on behind the scenes.
Being aware, however, is not enough. As Shaun King has said, Bernie is doing a good job of seeing that his supporters continue on. At the recent People's Summit, meant to organize the Political Revolution and continue the momentum, King compared Bernie's campaign to Obama's 2008 run. How energized the people are, how hopeful.
A passage from Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi captures the sentiment around the Obama campaign through a scene at a rally, in a way that can easily be applied to how people feel about Bernie Sanders:
"A black man nearby had hoisted his son onto his shoulders, and the son was laughing, his mouth full of milky teeth, one missing from the upper row. The father was looking up, and Ifemelu knew that he was stunned by his own faith, stunned to find himself believing in things that he did not think he ever would. When the crowd exploded in applause, clapping and whistling, the man could not clap, because he was holding his son's legs, and so he just smiled and smiled, his face suddenly young with joyfulness. Ifemelu watched him, and the other people around them, all glowing with a strange phosphorescence, all treading a single line of unbroken emotion. They believed. They truly believed. It often came to her as a a sweet shock, the knowledge that there were so many people in the world who felt exactly as she and Blaine did about Barack Obama" (442-43).
However, King also addressed that once the election was cinched, the supporters went their own ways, and Obama began his presidency. There was no more energizing, except for Organizing for Action.
That's not going to be the case with the Political Revolution people.
In an interview with Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone, Bernie was asked about what gave him hope for this country. His answer:
"These kids give me enormous confidence in the future. To see the faces on these kids who are adamant in their opposition to racism, to homophobia, to sexism, who want a world of peace, not of war."
Same, Bernie, same. The Political Revolution will continue because of the people who care, the people who go to rallies, the people who give their time, and the people who listen and hear the words and see the actions align. We are not only inspired by Senator Sanders. We love him, but we're as in love with each other too. We see a great future in other supporters, and we believe in what we can all do.
Dear Bernie,
Thank you for acting on the side of justice, thank you for being critical, thank you for doing your job and doing it well, thank you for playing the game when the overall goal is more important (McCain bipartisanship, voting for Hillary, yet not endorsing her), thank you for staying optimistic about the future, and thank you, forever and always, for beginning his political revolution.
This generation, while we may not even have heard of America's best senator a year ago, will never forget you from this election on.
As we take our own offices, we'll remember you as the nominee for President who got us started and re-ignited a trust in what politics is, at its best.
The flames of a fire have many different colors within them, but they all feel the bern. This fire is going to keep on going.
We're seven million individual donations strong, with an average contribution of $27 dollars.
Thank you so much for what you've started Bernie.
Keep on speaking with that Brooklyn accent.
Much love.