At the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016, Bernie Sanders stole the hearts of twenty-somethings across the country. He was talking about free tuition to colleges, black lives matter, and breaking up the big banks. All things I, a twenty-something, agreed with.
It's just crazy to me that the majority of people Bernie appealed to were college students and not older Americans. The things he stands for are not new concepts.
When I talked to older relatives they said they could not support Bernie because he's making too many promises. The promises he made are not hard to keep, he wanted to get people basic rights that they've been denied, he wanted to protect us and help young Americans get a higher education.
The primaries came at a time in my life where I truly didn't know if I could love the country I was living in. I liked Obama and thought he was doing a great job. But I started to lose faith in our congress, our court systems, and police forces. Bernie truly gave me hope, to see an old white man with the same political views as me was shocking and refreshing. His views have always been consistent, so I knew it was not a ploy to get young voters. The fact that he took part in the civil rights movement as a college student himself proved that his beliefs have not changed over the years and generations.
But when May rolled around I knew Bernie was not going to be the democratic presidential candidate and I knew it was coming to an end. Why? Because young people don't vote and older generations do.
The millennials had enough people to get Bernie elected but it did not happen. Also, super delegates played a major role in this year's primary. It just blows my mind that I am living in a society where Americans do not like either presidential candidate yet they are the ones who voted for them. Did people think Bernie was too good to be true? Who knows but now I am a very conflicted 22-year-old American college student and potential voter.
