Dear Bernie Sanders,

As someone who was always cynical of American politics and the politicians themselves, I told myself I would never vote. I told myself I would refuse to participate in a fraudulent, predetermined, illusive process that elects people who will create policy at my expense anyways. In fact, before I had heard your booming, Brooklyn-native voice, even over the corporate media blackout, I paid little to no attention to politics. I wouldn't have been able to tell you who the one percent is, who the top one-tenth of the one percent is, what "lobbying" is, what a "bought and paid for" politician is, what a Super PAC is, who Charles and David Koch are, what "Citizens United" is, what majority of individuals or corporations in this country evade taxes, how they evade taxes, how the banks on Wall Street gambled with the housing market throughout the 2000s--creating the enormous bubble that nearly destroyed the United States and world economies in 2008, how our government authorized a taxpayer bailout to those same banks, how those same banks wield more power today than they did then, how trade agreements like the TPP and NAFTA screwed the average American worker out of a job so corporations could avoid paying him $7.25/hour plus benefits to maximize profits, how health care in the United States works now, how it came to be or how a single-payer system would work, how the profits of insurance companies soar at the expense of the average American, how the profits of the pharmaceutical industry soar at--once again--the expense of the average American, how both of these industries win the gold and silver medals in the lobbying competition, how agrochemical giants like Monsanto are merging with others all around the world to monopolize the market, how laws like the Patriot Act traded Americans' freedom and privacy rights for scrutiny and control, how the looming police state in America continues to trample rights and advance toward military status while "protecting and serving the public," how or why the United States invests tax revenue incarcerating more people than any other country in the world despite making up less than 5 percent of the world's population rather than spending it on jobs and education and how the United States, along with arming and training Syrian rebel troops that often join them, invaded Iraq, overthrew its government, killed Saddam Hussein and created the power vacuum that ultimately led to the rise of the global terroristic threat known as "ISIS."

The list goes on and on and on.

You opened my eyes to so many unjust, profit, power and control driven decisions and regulations made by our own representatives. You did something seemingly unprecedented to many of us this election cycle. You stood up. You spoke out. You exposed extreme corruption in Washington. For years, no one heard you and then all of a sudden your voice was loud enough for millions of Americans to listen. Just like Ron Paul, you changed the game. You started what we have been referring to for the past year as the "Political Revolution." As I continue to self-educate, I begin to disagree with you on a number of issues, but what lies at the root of our political ideologies will always be the same--our passion to expose corruption, to create a trend of honesty in politics, to inform and educate rather than entertain the American public and to build and perpetuate a system in which mobility and prosperity are highly achievable, to rebirth the American Dream, if you will.

While I can't thank you enough for playing such a catalytic role in my political awakening, unfortunately I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am in your decision to not only endorse, but encourage your supporters to endorse Hillary Clinton. The week prior to the Democratic National Convention brought forth a leak of 20,000 emails containing proof that the DNC overwhelmingly favored their friend, Secretary Clinton, and conspired to silence you, your campaign, your political revolution and most importantly, the voices of your supporters. They wanted to silence democracy. As if months of differentiating between yourself and Secretary Clinton in terms of policy, months of bashing her faulty judgement and ties to Wall Street and the refusal of succumbing to everything you built the platform of your campaign fighting against weren't enough reason to not endorse her, the email leaks should have spelled out a giant "Hell no."

Once again, as if endorsing her yourself wasn't detrimental enough, you encouraged the true victims of this fraudulent election process to support the woman and the party responsible for it. You ran on the Democratic ballot and flawlessly exposed their corruption only to adopt the logic of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

To my understanding, when you return to Congress, it will be as an Independent; but in terms of this election, you are standing still standing with the Democrats. Why? Because beating Donald Trump and the Republicans is more important than a Hillary Clinton presidency that may slowly, but surely tear us apart?

You know as well as I do that the war being waged is not between Democrats and Republicans. It should not be depicted as a blue army under a General Clinton fighting a Red army under a General Trump. It should be depicted as masses of Americans, of all colors and classes, fighting the politicians who work on Capitol Hill in suits and ties; the politicians that betray them because they consider any US dollar thrown at them, from any industry or wealthy person(s), the apple of their eye; the politicians who seek to maintain control over and withhold knowledge from them. It should be depicted as the average American fighting the establishment and those who conspire against him. Hillary Clinton is one of those politicians.

Hillary Clinton is branded by the establishment. And in comparison to Donald Trump, whether she is greater or less, evil is evil. Why not encourage your supporters to vote third party and refrain from contributing to the election process in a way that benefits a vain, binary system? Green Party candidate, Dr. Jill Stein's economic and social views and policies nearly fall completely in line with your own. If enough people voted third party, a difference could truly be made. As I've watched the convention, I have seen so many "Bernie or Jill but never Hill" signs, typically accompanied by teary eyes or angry faces. They speak volumes and you should listen. They'll never be with her. They want to be with the solution not with the problem itself. So why ask? You wanted to fight the system and now you are with the system. Congratulations.

Sincerely,

An Ex-Member of the Political Revolution