After the results in the latest primaries, it would take a miracle for Bernie Sanders’ to become President of the United States. Although things could drastically turn around, it may help soften the blow to his supporters to prepare them for a future with Clinton or Trump. What’s next for the Sanders revolution and the impact of his ideas on the next generations?
So what does this mean for the future of Sanders’ socialist movement?
What matters most here is that Sanders is changing the face of politics for the millennial generation. Young people resonate with Sanders because he connects to them on a human level—financially, professionally, and personally. It’s interesting that he is the oldest candidate running, but seen as the coolest.
His directness, clarity and sense of fairness appeals to Millennials who take causes heart, believe corporations should give back and care about making a positive difference.
“Whether or not he’s winning or losing, it’s really that he’s impacting the way in which a generation – the largest generation in the history of America – thinks about politics,” said polling director John Della Volpe.
The future of politics could look a whole lot more revolutionary and a lot less orthodox.
A Pew Research Center study found that millennials are considerably more liberal than other generations. So, 20 years from now, would a candidate such as Trump even stand a chance? Or are these millennials going to turn conservative as they grow older?
What we do know is that Bernie has revived the socialist party.
“He and all the movements managed to push back the idea that socialism is this terrible thing,” said Winnie Wong in a Rolling Stone article, an Occupy veteran and co-founder for People for Bernie. “Who knew that could happen? That’s why the left has failed since the Sixties: It couldn’t figure out how to do this effectively.”
He just may be the one person we needed to change our future, written about in books to come. So that 20, 30, 40 years from now, our country’s leaders will look like activists who operate on grassroots efforts, support transparency, and demonstrate an open way about doing things.
Will a new revolution start in 2016?
Maybe not. Maybe it has. But this is the faint whisper that may grow into a loud scream in years to come, especially if young people continue to lean liberal, and are more open to the idea of this new “socialism”.
Oh, and if you Millenials keep turning out to vote.