Despite not being chosen as the Democratic nominee for this year’s election, it is undeniable that Bernie Sanders has made a big impact on this election. I was pretty heartbroken when I found out that Bernie would not be representing the Democratic Party because to me, he was the perfect median.
I do not think that Bernie’s initial intentions were to target the younger voters but a lot of his ideas sat really well with us. Here came a man that was so visibly honest, with no skeletons in his closet, who was just trying to give us a future to believe in. While one of the candidates is being called a racist and the other one a liar, the only flaw that people could find in Bernie was that he was a dreamer.
Many people believed his ideas were not achievable in America (obviously, not with that attitude), but you can’t blame the man for having a little faith in what our country has the potential to do. The majority of Bernie supporters are not crazy radical people. I have never really been into politics; to me politics always seemed like a bunch of people disagreeing on issues and then having to suck it up for four years when their party did not win. However, being that I can finally vote this year, I wanted to be involved and informed.
What better place to try to get involved than going to a rally? I attended one of Bernie’s rallies here in Minnesota in January and it became apparent to me that we were all there to support Bernie in a peaceful manner with kindness and respect. Bernie’s positive attitude and poise really reflected on his supporters. Unlike Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders did not instigate or encourage violence towards protesters. He let the Black Lives Matter protesters at the rally voice their concerns rather than dismissing them and ignoring them completely. Bernie does not just talk the talk; he has been active in the civil and human rights movement since the 1950s! His involvement and engagement with his supporters is one more thing that makes him such a charismatic leader and activist.
In my opinion, the person I would like to have for president is someone that is a nice human being to begin with, and with that being said, I think we can all agree a certain candidate is ruled out. I want a leader that is someone who does not blatantly insult groups of people, someone that has stayed true to their beliefs since day one, and someone who has not changed their mind to gain popularity. I guess now we are just going to have to wonder how different our lives would be if this country had given Bernie Sanders a chance.
Photo: Gustie “Bernie Bro” Sean Kehren