Many people look at my generation, the 20-somethings, and say that we are good for nothin', touchy-feely, emotionally-driven hippies. We're the next generation of rebellion, and I think that scares a lot of our parents. Much of this rebellion is fueled by the political corruption in America, but let's look at this more in-depth.
Kids of the 90s lived in a fairytale. We lived in a time where the economy was successful, technology was booming, and it created a sense of new beginnings. As a child of this time, I distinctly remember my cousins and I playing outside and then the Nintendo 64 showed up, and our days went from creating adventures in the woods to battling in Super Mario Kart onscreen.
This time was like a miniature Golden era where everything seemed to be going swimmingly in the ole' U.S. of A. That was until September 11, 2001. This devastating blow to our economy, foreign relations and political fervor caused a sense of depression in our country. Not to forget that this time was also about when the housing bubble was destroyed, so the theory that if we worked hard and went to college no longer seemed realistic. We watched our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles lose the homes they had worked their whole lives to obtain.
I think this attack on our country, families and its repercussions created this feeling of bitterness in us 90s kids as we grew up. We began to get mad about the fact that we couldn't have those old days back. That was until we found someone to believe in. We found Bernie Sanders.
The majority of Bernie supporters are of the millennial age. I think Senator Sanders has given us back the belief in happy times. He's made us envision the world as we used to remember it. When everything seemed to be fair and balanced. Back when we thought the United States was the best country in the world. While Hillary Clinton's familiarity appeals to the older generation, the younger generation is looking for a new candidate, someone that seems almost too radical to be true yet, through research, you can find that many successful countries follow policies extremely similar to Sen. Sanders' ideals.
Along with this, Sanders has given the people back their voice. He believes in letting the people think for themselves. That this country should stand up to its name and be "for the people, by the people." This goes back to the 90s nostalgia. The kids from this time have had their voice taken away from them. The country fell from this high point of booming and fell into a war-encrusted, economically failing and tar pit of disaster that we had no voice in changing. Sen. Sanders is the first candidate that is giving us back that voice. He has targeted this age group, knowing that we understand the importance of kindness, selflessness and generosity. Sanders knows that we are the next "hippie movement" and uses that to spread his message, which we gladly agree to do.
Ultimately, Bernie Sanders has been the first candidate in a long time that my generation has been able to fully get behind. He helps us envision a time we remember; a time when life was much kinder and our country was loving. Bernie Sanders is not just a candidate we agree with; he is a candidate we support. By fighting big business and for equality of all people, Bernie Sanders has given us hope.
