A few months ago, when my mom came to visit me at school, the 2016 election inevitably made it's way into the conversation.
As a college freshman and political science minor, I am finally able to form a thoughtful and educated opinion on the current state of the union, an opinion that does not blindly parrot my parent's beliefs. So now, when politics comes up, it can get somewhat heated.
"You don't understand," she said in that slightly condescending tone you use for people much younger than you, "These things get changed little by little. You can't just scrap the whole thing and start from scratch! Nothing will get passed!"
In case you couldn't tell from that little tidbit, she is a Hillary supporter. Meanwhile, I am most definitely feeling the Bern.
"What about all the big corporations and Wall Street donors that are contributing heaps of money to Hillary's campaign?" I countered, "You don't think that'll affect anything at all? Goldman Sachs for example..."
"No, it's not really gonna affect anything! The amount Goldman Sachs gave to her campaign is NOTHING for them. Compared to the amount of money they have, it's like a tiny blip. It won't make a difference."
Won't it make a difference, though? I thought to myself. I pulled up the lists of each candidates' top donors, just to make sure I wasn't fooling myself, and subjecting myself to the same media spin that so many have blindly swallowed. Then I looked into Hillary's positions: how they've changed, when they've changed. And finally, I remembered: the media is not on Bernie's side. Nor has it ever been. The establishment will do whatever they can to make him invisible because he is the definition of ANTI-establishment.
The conversation came up again over this spring break. Defending Hillary, she said to me, "I don't want my kids to be pessimists, I want them to be optimistic about the world. But they haven't had to break the glass ceiling the way my generation has. They haven't faced the sexism, the discrimination, they haven't been put through the ringer."
Soon after our argument was getting heated, the couple sitting in front of us turned around unexpectedly.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we had the same conversation with our daughter a couple weeks ago!" We all laughed and my brain began to race.
"May I ask how old you are?" They said to me.
"19," I replied.
"Oh, our daughter is 25."
So it's not just my mom and I, and I never expected it to be. Because I've had the same arguments with my English teacher at UVM, a middle-aged, upper-middle class, liberal white woman. No matter what arguments they make for Hillary and against Bernie, no matter what dressing they put on the situation, it all boils down to the single argument: Hillary is a woman. To quote my teacher, "There's nothing revolutionary about an old white man in the White House."
But, in my opinion, they could not be more wrong.
In the book, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, he talks about the psychological phenomenon of "confirmation bias." This is a phenomenon that is prevalent in politics, as it says that it's much harder for people to accept facts and information that do not confirm your pre-existing beliefs.
And my mother has always been a Hillary supporter.
She has seen her as Bill Clinton's First Lady, bringing up Health Care when many saw it as a non-issue. She was there when Hillary had to painfully deal with the Lewinsky scandal. She was there when Hillary had to face the critical eye of the media, calling her hard and cold and bashing her at every turn.
And, as the owner of her own construction company, a very male dominated, sexist field, my mom has had her own boatload of bigotry and hardships to deal with, despite being an extremely capable and hardworking woman.
So, I can see the relatability and the appeal of Hillary.
But, for someone who has just entered the political game, someone who has no preconceived biases or notions, it is so clear to me that Bernie Sanders is a far better candidate than Hillary Clinton.
I don't have a prior picture of either candidate that influences what I think of them. All I have is their record, which I compare on a factual basis, and then the new facts which have come to light in the wake of Bernie's "political revolution."
Hillary has changed her mind repeatedly on many issues, whether because of political expediency or big money influence- DOMA, the Keystone Pipeline, the TPP, and the list goes on. Meanwhile, Bernie has been resolute on all of his stances, and if you sift through YouTube and other video sources, you can see him on the House and Senate floors, making passionate and heated appeals for every issue that is fundamental to my set of beliefs- the Iraq War, the Crime Bill, Gay Marriage, Wall Street, and the list goes on.
Hillary's top donors are Citigroup, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, etc., etc. in the amounts of $700,000-$900,000. Bernie's top donors are United Auto Workers, Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union, Teamsters Union, University of California, Laborer's Union, etc., etc. in the amounts of $80,000-$100,000. So who are each of them really working for? I think the answer is pretty clear.
And I'm not saying Hillary's any worse than the usual politician, I don't hate her as so many of my generation do. I recognize that's she been in the limelight for a while, that she has to face constant bashing from the other side, that she is criticized with much more scrutiny because she is a woman. But I also recognize that there is a far better alternative; that Bernie has set a new standard; that he has changed the game.
As for the claim that Bernie's going to scrap everything and start from scratch- that things have to get done little by little...
Well that's what the media and the political establishment want us to believe. And yes, when voter turnout is as low as it is right now (at local, state, and national levels), things will only get changed little by little, and might possibly get worse.
But there's a reason Bernie uses the dramatic term, "political revolution." He's saying, let's stop being sheep. Let's stop letting the establishment trick us into thinking "Oh, there's nothing we can do, might as well accept it as it is." Let's stop letting the mainstream news media, which spins us to its liking, determine what is fact and what is truth. Let's get involved in politics (the determination of much of our lives) at EVERY level of government.
For so long, politics were irrelevant to the people because it didn't speak to the issues that truly faced them. Just look at the republican side, where all they talk about is war and deportation.
Having an old, white man in the white house is revolutionary, if that old white man is inciting millions of people who didn't care about politics before to stand up and fight for themselves. And Bernie is much more of a feminist than Hillary will ever be, because he's not just fighting for old, white feminist ideals (like those of my mom, I have to say).
He's fighting for young women, minority women, low-income women, LGBT women.
He's fighting for the American people.
So no, mom, I don't think I'm naive in voting for Bernie Sanders. I just think my generation sees something that painfully wasn't a reality for yours. They see that it doesn't have to be this way. We do live in a democracy, after all. All we were waiting for was the leader who would help us take it back.
