#FeelingTheBern in New Hampshire: The Work is Far From Over

I was walking out of my last class of the day, when I flipped through my e-mails and saw this:

And my reaction went something like this:

(Well, on the inside, at least. No use getting kicked out of school just a few months away from graduation now.)

Bernie Freaking Sanders just won the New Hampshire primary, beating Hillary 60% to 38%. And he had a strong female voter support base – eat your heart out, Ms. Steinem. I am so excited by his progress and yet, it would be dangerous to think our work is done. We’re still quite a ways away from a slam dunk for the presidency, even for the Democratic nomination. We’ve only heard from 2 states and while they are important, they are by no means the final word.

For example, on the Republican side, Trump came in second in Iowa and then blew the rest of the candidates out of the water in New Hampshire. Cruz had won in Iowa and ended up in third place, pretty much tying with Jeb Bush.

There are still 48 states left to throw in their vote for the presidential nominees. (Check out this site for the primary schedules for each state.) Make sure you’re all good to go to vote! To be honest, I wasn’t much of a believer in voting: “My voice doesn’t matter.” However, I actually believe in a candidate this time around. Maybe my voice won’t matter in the grand scheme of the universe, but what really is the harm in me casting my vote for Bernie Sanders, especially as opposed to any of the other candidates, Democrat or Republican?

Maybe Sanders is a sign of a shift in the spirit of the times. He’s more of a sign for hope than Obama even was. We have a guy with actual principles, with the interests of The People in his heart, and we’re considering NOT voting for him? At worst, we have another ineffective president that we end up disliking – the cycle continues, but at best… Even if Bernie doesn’t get to enact more than 2 policies he’s promised, we’ve prepared our country for actual change for the better! He’s a mighty snowball that will have a major impact on how we do things in the future, even long after he’s gone. 

And maybe I’m wrong. It’s possible that Bernie Sanders could somehow be the worst thing to happen to everyone in the history of everything. What I do know is that I feel hope for our society because of Sanders’ campaign. What I do know is that Bernie is an opportunity I don’t want to pass up.

Are you following the primaries? What are your thoughts/feelings on the race so far? And for those who couldn’t give less of a damn, here’s a compilation video of cats getting brain freeze.

Read more:

• Why Bernie vs Hillary Matters More Than People Think | Benjamin Studebaker
• New Hampshire Hates That It Loves Donald Trump | Politico
• How Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Became the Best Political Satirist of 2016 | The Daily Beast
• A Racist, Sexist Demagogue Just Won The New Hampshire Primary | Huffington Post
• Read: Hillary Clinton’s New Hampshire Concession Speech | Vox

[Header image source: Wikipedia]