Social media has undoubtedly revolutionized the political process-- like never before, voters have been able to keep up to the minute tabs on their candidates, spread information, and encourage political action. However, with the rise of political actions on social media, there has been a development in voters of idolizing politicians. This isn’t an argument against politics on social media, for this phenomenon is one that has most likely been around for a long time. However, with the rise of mass communication on the scale that social media brings, it is starting to get concerning.
This is seen a lot within the following of Bernie Sanders (although, I’m certain it’s prominent in many other cases; this is simply the one that comes to mind initially). Will I vote for Bernie Sanders? Most likely. I agree with many of his political stances and I like the direction that he’s attempting to take our country. Do I think he’s a cool grandpa that’s going to fix all the problems of the United States? No, that’s unrealistic. But that tends to be what some voters think he’s going to be.
Bernie Sanders is not your cute grandpa. He’s not Dumbledore. Bernie Sanders is, at the end of the day, a politician. He is running for one of the most powerful positions in the entire world. Is he going to be 100 percent honest and trustworthy all the time? No. Absolutely not. Perhaps in a perfect world that would be possible, but this is the United States. Believing that politicians are going to be uncrooked all the time is idealistic and harmful. Is Bernie perhaps one of the better, fairer politicians? Certainly. But just because he’s better than the rest doesn’t mean he’s perfect.
There are many voters who put Bernie on a pedestal. I’ve seen many instances where people make memes or art of him as they would a fictional character (or perhaps, a celebrity). But Bernie isn’t a fictional character. He is a real life politician. He is someone that is in charge of lawmaking and leading the United States. Seeing him as some untouchable idol is just going to make us unable to see his faults, which he does have. We, especially millennials, are entirely susceptible to thinking of him that way.
A Bernie Sanders flower crown collage, often seen on tumblr for fictional characters.
And, in some ways, I get it. Voters, especially newer voters, are excited about Bernie Sanders. He vocalizes a lot of issues that people have been concerned with for a long time. He could be seen as a the underdog hero in the election, championing the unvoiced American people. It’s exciting, and seeing someone like him in the view of the world makes people want to throw their support behind him. And that makes sense! But what we can’t do is let that idolization blind us to what politics really are, and to what being a politician means.
This sort of idolization happened too when Obama was elected. He was seen as a young, fresh face, not to mention being the first black president. There were many people who believed he would bring in a new era of politics. However, they eventually got jaded when they realized it wasn’t going to be that simple. Did Obama fix the United States? Certainly not. Did he get things done? Yes, but not all of it is entirely obvious to us right now.
Changing the world and fixing America isn’t going to be easy, and it’s not just going to happen with Bernie Sanders. Even if Bernie gets elected, voters need to make sure to keep up with other political processes too. If voters want real change to happen, they should work towards getting more democrats in the Senate, and paying attention to politics in their local government. Don’t just let this end with Bernie Sanders. Keep the ball rolling.
Am I saying you shouldn’t like Bernie Sanders? No. Am I saying not to make art of him? No, of course not. But realize his faults. Realize that he is a human being and that he is going to make mistakes if he gets elected to office. He isn’t going to be able to get everything done, especially in a Republican-dominated Senate (even if he has a record of being good at compromising). He isn’t some magical, fix-all wizard who will flick his wand and make the world better for the middle class. A political revolution isn’t going to end with Bernie Sanders. There’s still more to be done.
