Dancing Sanders supporter feeling the Bern is ‘amazeballs’

Remember the outrage in September when candidate Donald Trumpdidn’t correct a rally attendee whoclaimed that President Obama was a Muslim? Trump, as always, resisted explaining or apologizing,instead tweeting:

By the media’s standard, we’d like to know if Bernie Sanders would care to defendthis dance performed at his rally or if he remained silent. And isn’t Lena Dunham stumping for Hillary?

The…

I’ve tried about 15 times to write this, but everything I write pales in comparison to the man that is Bernie Sanders. But I’mma try. 

I’ve got a confession. I wasn’t with Bernie from the beginning. When he first announced candidacy, and my roommate told me, I was like, “I just know he’s old. I mean I like Hillary...she did some good stuff.”

And then I read something. Sanders was doing it without a superPAC. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I love voting. I believe in voting. And to meet a nominee who loves voting/democracy so much so that he would refuse big money was something out of an alternate universe. 

I took it slow in the beginning, knowing that we were soul mates, but not wanting to rush into things. Posting something on facebook here and there, ordering a lawn sign, talking to my family about why I love Bernie and engaging in political debate with aunts, uncles and cousins. Sometime in January, I went to my first march. I was inspired by the people I met. Some older, some younger, all with different stories, but all of us with fire in our hearts and a belief that we can be better, we deserve better and our fellow humans deserve better - regardless of creed, color, gender, orientation, economic background.

These people inspired me to step up my game. I did a bit of phone banking (in Spanish and English) and signed up to be a caucus site leader. In one of the proudest moments of my young life, I stood up on a stack of gym mats and made a lil speech which turned some voters to Bernie and earned us a delegate. I met more people - my own neighbors! -who believe in a better tomorrow and heard a bit about their stories.

At every level of the caucus/convention game, I met more Bernie supporters and their stories. I’ve been exposed to so many more lives, so many more experiences and learned about so many new ideas from minds greater than my own through this entire experience. I have met some of the most intelligent, compassionate, socially-minded people through this process. I have become a better citizen through this process, a more informed citizen and a more active citizen.

In a sense, Bernie losing the candidacy is a benefit in that people are still working to make change at the local levels, running for office, building initiatives to get money out, and working to flip this congress instead of thinking getting him elected would fix everything. Bernie built a movement around love and compassion for fellow humans, a movement of mutual respect, inspiration, motivation - a movement of powerful understanding, not fear. “And what is done in love is done well” to quote my boy, vinny van gogh. 

I originally started writing this when Bernie lost the Democratic party’s nomination in the national convention, but couldn’t get it right. I was stirred to pick it back up by seeing Nina Turner (Bernie surrogate) speak at a YES ON I-735 panel last week and felt that inspiration and motivation again. Also, this election is really turning my dreams weird, but last night...last night, I met Bernie Sanders and gave him a big ol' hug and just said "Thank you so much!" over and over again.