Today Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the democratic nominee of the US 2020 Presidential Election. I was planning on voting for Senator Sanders, so this news is disheartening for me.
It's hard for me to talk about politics so publicly because I don't like to upset people. I grew up in a conservative area with a conservative family, so when I discovered that there were people who believed in more liberal ideas I was shocked. Youtubers, bloggers, and my friends are the ones who taught my teenage self about this progressive world that I didn't know existed beforehand. I was never taught there was a choice in my beliefs, instead when I asked questions about politics or social issues I only ever got right-wing responses. I don't blame my family for this, because those are the beliefs they value and they wanted to instill them in me. But thankfully, I learned to think for myself and chose the beliefs that make the most sense to me. I've always been afraid to really firmly state where I stand in politics because those who disagree with me are people that watched me grow up, and oftentimes there's a lot of misinformation out there that causes confusion. I feel like I will disappoint people, and that they may see me differently (as a raging feminist crazy liberal silly young person). It's no secret to them that I am an artist who's a part of a largely liberal community, but it's still one of those things that you "don't talk about at the dinner table". But this is not the dinner table, and I'm practicing speaking my truth, so here it goes.
When I heard Bernie dropped out, immediately I was disappointed and thinking, WHY?! In hindsight, what I really meant is why is our election process set up this way, and why does the little guy never win? Because it is clear that Bernie's reason for dropping out was that he would not win, and there was no point in continuing his campaign. Which is a shame. My second thought after hearing the news was now the only options for President of the United States are two men who have been accused of rape... Regardless of what you believe about these accusations, the fact that they have been accused at all is painful for me and for women across the country. When are we going to stop uplifting sexual abusers and reinforcing rape culture? It's also disappointing to know that Biden will not be pushing for some of the platforms that Sanders was, and that I believe in. For example, during this pandemic it has been made more clear than ever that an employer based healthcare system is hurting Americans more than helping, especially African Americans and low income groups, and Biden does not support a single-payer system. After the election of Trump in 2016, I hoped that the gauntlet would swing the other way this time around and we could have a progressive president, but it appears we can't.
I watched some parts of Sanders' livestream about his decision, and he made a great point that this has always been more than a campaign. He was the head of a movement, and he's proud of the progress they have made. I think he's right, and it's really exciting to remember that last time Bernie was really the only progressive candidate, and this year he had to compete with the likes of Warren and Buttigeg. Now, I wasn't the biggest Bernie supporter out there. I definitely considered putting my vote behind a different progressive candidate, but now I won't get the chance to chose any of them. Now I will remind you to go vote for Bernie in your primary still, because he needs all the delegates he can get so that he has a stronger influence at the democratic convention.
I also would like to remind you that these are just my thoughts, and that I'm allowed to have them even if they are different than yours. Being open-minded and absorbing diverse ideas is what allows us to grow.
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