#FeeltheBern was a trending topic on Twitter during the Democratic debate. In between posts like “Bernie Sanders is my dad,” people asking what democratic socialism is, and some actually commenting on Sanders' performance during the debate, I was troubled to see a lot of negative posts about Sanders’ young supporters. Many people seem to feel that the overwhelming support that he has from 18-24 year olds is annoying just because of their age, as if they can't possibly be interested for the right reasons and they're only following a trend. Insinuating that teenagers and young adults do not have the capacity to understand politics is ignorant and regressive. We are living in a time where we use Instagram to decide on our next hair cut, Tumblr for fashion advice, and in many cases, Facebook and Twitter as a news source. That means that our hairstyles, new pair of jeans, and political opinions are out in the open for anyone to see. Now, a plastic democratic sign on your neighbor’s front yard is not the only way that you can find out who they’re voting for, and no longer do you have to converse around the water cooler to know that your boss, Hank, is a Trump supporter. Just because we can make our opinions public with a click of a button, doesn't mean that those who do are doing it only for attention. We shouldn't be nervous to share our views with others, and our intentions certainly shouldn't be judged for it. If we make it easier for everyone to learn about each candidate and make it cool to be knowledgable in politics, it may ignite a more intelligent conversation on social media.

It’s no secret that Bernie Sanders knows the demographic of his fan-base and deliberately panders to it, like with his appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show or his witty tweets making fun of Donald Trump during the GOP debate. However, this doesn’t mean that the young people who pay attention to it are dumb. He has a dominantly young group of supporters because he is fighting for young people. Whether it has been through memes or through Buzzfeed articles, Sanders has sparked a political interest within young people larger than anything Barack Obama managed to do during his first campaign in 2008, and even then Urban Outfitters was selling his face on their t-shirts. So how about instead of complaining about young people not being educated in politics, we take responsibility and educate them? The fact of the matter is that we are the ones who have to live in this country for the next several decades, and it is up to us to make sure that our fate is in good hands. If you’re not familiar with Sanders' views on various issues, here’s a little more information:

One of the most important issues relating to young people today is Sanders’ plan to make public college tuition free. Do you think that’s far fetched? Well, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and soon to be Chile do it. In a country where the minimum wage is only $7.25 (which Sanders wants to change to $15.00!), expecting people to be cool with spending thousands upon thousands a year to get an education is literally insane. I’m nauseous just thinking about it. It just is not logical. Under Sanders’ plan, he will make public college free, substantially cut down on student loan interest rates, allow students to refinance their debt at a low interest rate, and stop the federal government from making a profit off of our student loan debt. According to Sanders, education should be a right, not a privilege. Within the last decade, so many smart characters have been written in television and movies, where before, a lot of comedy came from dumb characters being imbeciles. Basically, our generation has made being smart really cool, and everyone should have the opportunity to gain as much knowledge as possible-- no matter the circumstances.

Sanders being pro-choice is another reason that young people, especially women, back him. Being pro-choice is much more than supporting the access to safe and legal abortion, it is supporting the woman’s right to her own body. If abortion was to be made illegal, what stops right-wing conservatives from attacking all other aspects of women’s health such as birth control? Nothing. Sanders believes that the decision of what a woman can do with her own body should be up to her, and not to a bunch of stuffy, old white men. Bernie’s fierce support of the LGBT+ community has gained him a lot of interest as well, and he has the history to back his views up unlike some other candidates. He wants to end discrimination against all people regardless of gender, orientation or skin color. It’s 2015 and the fact that there are people who want to run an entire country who don’t want that is unbelievable.

Bernie Sanders thinks marijuana should be legalized. This goes hand in hand with his plan to clean up America’s public prisons. Sanders believes probation should suffice, or people shouldn't be arrested for certain petty crimes in the first place, such as possession of marijuana. Arrest rates for marijuana are high because it is so common, and the more people in prison, the more money the government makes. If the government’s gross amount of power doesn’t infuriate you, then you need to do some research and reevaluating.

During the debate Sanders said that the only way we can transform America is if “the government works for everyone, not just millionaires.” Big banks that are too big to fail rely on taxpayers to bail them out when they teeter too close to the edge, but they won’t help the millions of Americans in debt. The government only wants to give tax breaks to millionaires who don't need it. Sanders is being called the political Robin Hood because he wants to do the complete opposite. That’s not a radical idea, it’s common sense.

Next time you see an 18 year old girl tweeting about how cute Bernie Sanders is, strike up a conversation with her. If she doesn’t know much about his stances, encourage her to do some research. If the guy who sits behind you in your creative writing class is ranting on Facebook about fans of Sanders, ask him why he feels that way. Social media can be a powerful tool if we use it to enlighten one another rather than tear each other down. Nothing is going to change unless we, as the future of this country, do something about it.

For more information on Bernie Sanders and his fight for a political revolution, visit https://berniesanders.com/issues/