Bernie Sanders: Rise of the Youth, Role of the Elders, and the Power of Justice from the Heart

I woke up sweetly crying while giving a moving speech in my mind. In my dream I was sitting in a loft setting with Bernie Sanders, a bunch of other modern American politicians, and I was the only young person. I had somehow snuck in there. Bernie had seen me and he hadn't said anything. And at one point he asked me to speak, and I gave this moving speech. About Bernie Sanders, about elders, about honoring grief & pain. About integrity, about justice, about action. I woke up in the middle of it crying tears that didn't feel quite real. 

My heart was beating. I realized how much my heart has become involved in this political arena, this political game. My dear, sweet heart sings whenever I watch a Bernie video or read something about what he stands for and the vision he is carrying. It ignites something that already lives within me. To hear someone carry a radical vision you have inside you too… and to be running for President… It does feel very dream like to me at times. Unreal. 

I have grown up so jaded and disappointed in the government and anything that has to do with the systemic way of doing things in the United States. Education. Health care. The more I cultivate a critical consciousness and begin to think for myself, the more it seems like like such a bunch of bullshit. And it is. Politicians being bought out by corporate interests, and no one making any real action to address climate change. We know the sad story. We know the corruption, the lies, and the presentation. And I have as a youth just checked out. Totally turned off from anything that has to do with that realm because it was so depressing and seemed to be dying anyway, so why not just watch it die from over here. 

There is something so magical for me about Sanders… and what it is igniting in the youth… the Millennial generation. I feel like sometimes the media or mainstream culture can make it seem like the ONLY Bernie supporters are the young ones, and that is just not true in my experience. I know plenty of middle aged and older people who support Bernie, however, I am going to focus on the youth as that is where I find myself in this body in this moment. 

Finally. An elder who is willing to meet us in our DREAMS, support us in our DARING with his wisdom and experience. This is what the youth crave. I have been observing this for awhile. This connection (or disconnection) between the young ones and the old ones. The devastating effects of a disconnection between the generations, and I feel that our culture promotes this kind of disconnection. Last semester in my Community Based Learning and Action class at Naropa, we examined ideals of an environment where young people would thrive. What are the needs of young people today? Of young people across time? Among other things, we found a deep need for support and guidance from the ones who have lived here longer than us: the elders of our communities. Elders who are willing to listen to the young ones and work with them. 

Yes. I feel most families try to do this to the best of their ability. Try to guide their young ones into a life that will be satisfying, happy, and successful for them. And I want to make a distinction between an elderly person and an ELDER. I first came across this idea of an elder while studying various indigenous communities around the world, particularly through Rupert Ross`s book called `Returning to the Teachings: Exploring Aboriginal Justice`. Now, of course, being a white person of European descent, I do not claim to know what an elder is according to indigenous traditions. I can only speak from my social location and be sensitive to other cultures and their understandings. What I read in that book that spoke about elders guiding the communities sparked in me my own contemplation about what my association with this kind of elder figure was. 

To me, an elder is someone who is fully stepping into their role as a wisdom keeper of the community. To me, an elder is someone who is looking at life with a clean, humble perception and a clarity of vision for the future. To me, an elder is someone who selflessly addresses the needs of the tribe and takes action by rallying the community to support these needs. A leader. An elder. This can show up in a small way or a big way. An elder is honest, sometimes brutally and is alignment with the Earth and her people. An elder is not afraid to do the work of facing fear and bringing light to subconscious patterns. An elder knows how to take care of oneself and therefore, knows how to properly care for the people. 

I have witnessed in many of my young friends a desire. A desire that is sometimes felt in exasperation. Sometimes it comes with anger and frustration of having not been met for so long. The voice of `WHERE are the real elders of our communities?` rings out from the bodies of many young people I have observed. Where are the wisdom keepers? Where are the ones guiding us safely through the initiatory years of adulthood? Where have they gone? It is like some half forgotten dream that dwells in our cells and our bodies remember… 

I feel that the youth need the elders. And the elders need the youth. There is no one to blame for the current structure of our society and the way that it promotes a sense of disconnection and disharmony between the generations. I do not find blame useful. I see an equal patterning of disrespect from the youth towards the elders and a lack of elderly guidance towards the youth. I find creating healthy and empowering connections between young people and older people very useful. Even if the old ones are not in alignment with the dreams of the young ones, I feel it can be very helpful to cultivate relationships and share experiences. We need the elders and their guidance, and they need our RESPECT. No matter what. 

I feel incredibly lucky to be blessed with guides of all kind in my life. I feel nourished by mentors of all kinds of backgrounds and ages, and this is very rare. I look around, and I do not see that this is the norm for most of the youth in my society. Most young people, especially in college, hardly ever make genuine, deep connections with elders. That way of connecting is not built into the system, it is not the norm of our culture. And I feel it leaves us feeling lost, whether we are young or old. 

To me, Bernie Sanders is an example of this elder-youth relationship blossoming and coming into a sense of balance again. He continues to ignite thousands of young hearts with his brave truth telling and radical visioning of a future that is sustainable and works for everyone. There is something incredibly powerful about the awakening of the hearts in this way. It is fragile, and it has a power that I feel should not be underestimated. There is a warrior that rests in my heart. And she is ready to stand for justice, peace, and liberation for all beings. She is gentle, and she is fierce. She is ready to tear down old structures that do not serve anymore and creatively build new ones that do. This is what I come into contact with every time I hear Bernie speak. It rises from within me. 

This kind of power, especially shared together in community, is unstoppable and will change the world in a way that has never been seen before. This is the dream I hold in my heart.