Remember when I wrote that politics will always be a huge part of my life even though I decided to change my major? I wasn't joking. I love politics, and the race to win the nomination for the 2016 presidential elections is making me feel so many emotions. There's already a stand-out candidate in my book: Senator Bernie Sanders.
This country is in serious need of a political revolution. We live in a nation where the people that need the most help are not given an opportunity to speak. Instead, they are criticized by the top 1 percent. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are not bankrupting this country; the big corporations refusing to pay their employees a livable wage, while they find loopholes to refrain from paying what they should be in taxes every year are bankrupting this country. These are the same corporations that are contributing to the super PACs of politicians who keep telling you that welfare is ruining our country's economy. Having access to these welfare programs, in my opinion, is a human right. To have the nerve to deny anyone such rights is an abomination.
The people enjoying their government-funded healthcare are the ones voting to defund Planned Parenthood, thus taking away the only affordable healthcare provider many people in our country need access to. We live in a country where women still experience a wage gap, particularly Hispanic and American Indian women. Most politicians throw the 77-cents-to-a-dollar ratio, but that is the wage gap between white women and white men. While this wage gap is still unacceptable, very few candidates recognize that the wage gap is also an issue of race.
We live in a country where people still deny climate change. It's November 13 and the window is still open in my dorm room. Big Oil pays politicians to deny science and support fracking and oil drilling, which are dangerous to the environment. Humans destroying the earth isn't a "way of life." Animals inhabited this planet years before homo sapiens did; we are destroying their ways of life, and legal measures should be taken to prevent humans from creating more damage to this planet.
In the United States, the price to go to college often turns people away from receiving a higher education. However, many fields and professions require a Master's degree. With wage inequality running rampant in this country, making college affordable and accessible to all, regardless of economic standing, is crucial so that people can find jobs to help support themselves and their families. In my eyes, the best way to do this is to make public colleges and universities tuition-free. Through tax reform (aka taking away tax loopholes from the richest in this country), this is not only feasible but necessary. Education should not be a privilege and should not put people thousands of dollars in debt.
Why am I talking about issues I find important? Because Senator Sanders is talking about them, too, and he's been talking about them for decades. He's truly ahead of his time with his progressive beliefs. He joined a peace march with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s, was voted the best mayor in the country in 1987, and has held positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He has a history of fighting for racial and gender equality, both while serving in Congress and in his personal endeavors. He doesn't have a super PAC or big corporations giving him thousands of dollars to spew out lies and bigotry. He fights for wage equality and a livable minimum wage. He fights for the youth of this country, whose political ideas and needs are not taken seriously.
To anyone who thinks he would never win the nomination:
We can start the much-needed political revolution this country desperately needs.
If you don't agree with me or support Senator Sanders, that's fine. But do your research on who owns your politicians. A source I trust (and check every time I watch a debate on television) is OpenSecrets, a website that allows you to see which corporations are funding each candidate, which is very important information to know. Remember, candidates support the people that pay them the big bucks. Most politicians are funded by corporations or political groups, Donald Trump is self-funded, and Bernie Sanders is funded by the people.
Another great resource to find out which candidate will best support your interests is ISideWith.com. Here, you can take a quiz on different political issues and be matched with the best candidate for your concerns. (According to this website, I agree with Bernie Sanders on 97 percent of issues. The #bern is intense.)
Become educated on the 2016 presidential nominees, and vote for the person who you think will best serve America. For me, that nominee is Bernie Sanders.
