2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe Real Reason Millennials Love Bernie Sanders
Nikhil Goyal is the author of Schools on Trial. He has volunteered for Bernie Sanders' campaign.
Sanders may be a disheveled old white dude, but hes also one of us
Pundits and analysts have been scrambling to understand how a white, male 74-year-old democratic socialist from Vermont has been able to acquire remarkable stardom among the youth. Bernie Sanders has trounced Hillary Clinton in poll after poll among voters under 30. A recent survey of 1,000 Americans aged 18 to 26 found that he is the most respected political figure, and that more would prefer to have dinner with him than Beyonce, Kanye West and Justin Bieber. Whats going on?
When you talk to the members of my generation, it all makes sense.
We are living in an age that is the product of austerity measures, deregulation, skyrocketing student-loan debt, high unemployment and a lack of affordable housing. Many of us cannot remember a time when the U.S. was not dropping bombs on the Middle East. Democratic socialism sounds like a much better alternative than our current system.
So when a disheveled old white dude comes along and says our society is rigged for the rich, perpetual warfare is not the answer, and people of color should not be slaughtered by the policeand then asks for our help and a few dollars to bring about a revolutionyoure damn right were going to stand with him.
Sanders is the only candidate who has been a champion of the oppressed throughout his entire political careereven when it was not popular. He refuses to be bought by Wall Street or the defense, fossil fuel, insurance, drug and private prison industries. And he has a policy platform rooted in the interests of the poor and working class. From calling for corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes to breaking up the Wall Street banks to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour to dismantling institutional racism, he has radical, bold visions for transforming this nation.
Sanders supporters like myself are declaring: Our institutions and the political and economic establishment have been royally screwing us over, and were not going to take it anymore.
One of the common lines of attack from Clinton is that Sanders proposals are impractical and pie in the sky. And yes, single-payer health care, free public college, campaign finance reform, and racial, economic, and climate justice may seem unrealistic today. But so did the crusades for civil rights and marriage equality. Unless we fight for our dreams and what arguably belongs to us as human beingsa life of freedom and dignitywe will never achieve any of it.
When Clinton was a U.S. Senator, she visited my middle school in New York. Two years ago, I met her for the first time and spoke on a panel about revolutionizing education at the Clinton Global Initiative University. My familiarity with her political record makes me more enthusiastic to vote for Sanders.
Many of us young people can see through Clintons faux progressivism. We are not fooled by her many political calculations and evolutions. We believe that voting for the Iraq War should disqualify a candidate from ever holding public office again, and that taking money from financial institutions that destroyed the livelihoods of so many American families is blatantly immoral.
The insurgency of the Sanders campaign also arrives at a moment in American history when there is a wave of civil disobedience and direct action for social justice, especially on colleges campuses. Bernie is a protestor, observed Erica Garner, the daughter of the late Eric Garner, the black man who was killed by police on Staten Island in 2014. As a student at the University of Chicago, Sanders fought against segregated schools and housing, and was once arrested at a protest of the citys segregated public schools.
Sanders theory of change is in tune with young people and remains sound: Change always comes from the bottom up. Hes one of us. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment is inspiring millions of people to participate in our political process for the first time. Whether young Sanders supporters win the battle this time is unforeseen, but we will win the war. We are the future of the Democratic Party. As a 20-year-old native New Yorker, there is no politician I would be more delighted to cast my first vote for today.
Vote for the Bern
http://time.com/4299321/millennials-bernie-sanders/
VulgarPoet
(2,872 posts)And fortunately, there are still hippies willing to brawl. Excellent article.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Jitter65
(3,089 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,571 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,571 posts)litlbilly
(2,227 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Clinton would be smart to use/consult/assign/tap him -- in cabinet position or something -- but I think he is not Prez material.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)is always at least two sides to everything. So far, more people agree with me -- young, old, and a much more diverse group. The latter is what I care most about having grown up with Dems and GOPers who really didn't give a darn about diversity.
However it goes, good luck. BTW, if Sanders were nominee, I'd vote for him in a heart beat.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)hollowdweller
(4,229 posts)I'm 56 and graduated college in 1983, the good life a lot of our parents had was slipping away then, esp the good union jobs.
My wife and I managed to hang 10 on the end of the social contract by being gov't employees, but by the time I retired last year they had already yanked a lot of what's good about that out of the later hires and increased the what's bad part.
People my age who were getting shortchanged should have started pulling for the kind of changes that we needed 15 or more years ago but the powers that be kept wiggling the carrot out in front saying prosperity was right around the corner, so so many fell for the tax cuts, budget cuts "those other people" were not working hard enough, instead of taking what was going on at face value.
I know so many people now in their mid to late 30's and they are sort of at the same stage my wife and I were at 24. Not because they are lazy but they are graduating with way more debt and really less economic opportunity. Really one of the things about "the Man's" idea everybody should work longer that is fucked up is then those people don't retire and make good jobs avail for the younger guys.
Younger folks have the internet so they are less likely to be mis informed by the mainstream than my generation was. Also a lot have either traveled abroad or know people in other countries so maybe they don't view a good social safety net as pie in the sky as people in the past have.
All I know is a lot of people my age and older have enjoyed some of the benefits now denied younger folks while at the same time opposing them for selfish reasons and I'm glad to see the younger generation waking up!
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Wasn't GW Bush who spoke with a voter during an election cycle and she said, I
have 3 jobs? And he said something in effect..wow, that's great!
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)msongs
(67,389 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)XemaSab
(60,212 posts)"Yeah, we believed in peace and love and shit like that, then we grew up and got corporate jobs."