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Bernie Sanders

by Lily from San Diego

 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ ())
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ ())

"It's better to show up than to give up" (Sanders). Bernie Sanders has never been one to give up, he fights for what he believes in and he doesn't listen to anyone who tells him his ideas are unrealistic or impractical. Sanders' grew up in a house that never had an abundance of money, he knows the financial struggle that many Americans face. However, that never stopped him from achieving greatness. Sanders attended the University of Chicago in the 1960s, where his interest in politics began. Since then, he has been fighting for the basic rights of minorities. A hero should have courage, integrity, and be inclusive towards everyone. Courage is important to show how a hero can push through anything to get what he/she wants. Integrity not only builds accountability but allows people to trust you, and being inclusive is important so that a person can appeal to everyone, not just a group of specific people. Sanders is a great example of someone who falls under all of those categories. Bernie Sanders has proved that he is a hero through his courageousness, integrity, and inclusiveness.


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(http://nymag.com ())

Bernie Sanders' courage allowed him to build the life he has today, he fought to become an influential politician and has demonstrated his passion for what he does. His interest in politics began while he attended the University of Chicago where he joined many organizations that participated in different political activities. One group he joined was the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). One thing CORE focused on was racism in Chicago, and they found out that the University had segregated housing."Our CORE chapter sent white couples and black couples into the university-owned housing, pretending to be looking for an apartment to rent. A black couple would find that there were just no apartments available. A few hours later, a white couple would find a choice of apartments in the same building" (Sanders). Sanders' activism started early on, in his first years of college he already had a huge interest in politics that continued throughout his life. He had strong beliefs and the people around him did too. The groups he joined did many activities, such as exposing the segregation in the university, that tremendously helped with the Civil Rights Movement. Sanders did many other things in the Civil Rights Movement to help fight for equal rights between races. He went to many protests, and even marched with Martin Luther King Jr.. Another civil rights activist, Danny Glover, and Bernie Sanders are now friends. Glover and Sanders were at one of the same marches: "When I saw Bernie Sanders getting arrested for protesting segregation it was powerful," actor and activist Danny Glover says in the ad. "The presidential candidate that has put himself on the line to be on the right side of history. I think Bernie is one of us. I think Bernie is with us" (Delmont). His arrest shows that Bernie Sanders was, and still is, fine with risking his own comfort for the safety of others. His activism in college set the tone for the rest of his life. After joining groups such as CORE, Bernie Sanders never looked back and has been fighting for rights of minorities since then. His courage is one of the many reasons that he is as successful as he is today.


 (http://www.politico.com ())
(http://www.politico.com ())

Integrity is the key to any politician's success, and Bernie Sanders is a clear example of this. By having integrity Bernie Sanders created accountability for himself and was able to spread his message. Bernie Sanders has been fighting for the same few issues since 1960 when he first joined political groups at his university. Since then, he has continued to spread the same message. "Senator Sanders has been a longtime supporter of LGBT rights. In 1983, during his first term as Mayor of Burlington, Sen. Sanders supported the city's first ever Pride Parade. He later signed a city ordinance banning housing discrimination" (Sanders).One of the many issues Bernie Sanders has always been an advocate for is LGBT rights. He is, and always has been a proud supporter of LGBT rights. After serving as the mayor of Burlington, Vermont Bernie Sanders decided to run for congress, and he won. "Sanders served in the House for 16 years. He was the only Independent to serve in the House for most of his tenure. Sanders made the move to the Senate in 2006, succeeding Independent Senator Jim Jeffords" (Sanders).Bernie Sanders fought to give minorities fundamental rights for the whole time he was in the house. After serving as one of the few independents in the House of Reps for 16 years he ran for Senate and replaced another Independent senator named Jim Jeffords. Bernie Sanders has had virtually the same political views since the 1960s, this shows integrity through the consistency in his work, which is what allows people to trust and respect him.


 (https://www.democraticunderground.com ())
(https://www.democraticunderground.com ())

By being inclusive to all different types of people, Bernie Sanders became a very appealing politician to many.One of the issues he has always fought for is gender equality."When it comes to the rights of women, we cannot go backwards. We have got to go forward" (Sanders). Sanders knows that our nation has made lots of progress with equal rights for women and men. However, there are still many things we need to work on. That's why he is pro-choice and believes that women should be able to choose what they do with their own bodies. He also notices that there is a big difference in the amount of money men and women earn for doing the same work. Equal pay was one of the main issues he focused his presidential campaign around. There were other things he was fighting to have for women as well. He wanted to "Provide at least 12 weeks of paid family leave, 2 weeks of paid vacation, and one week of paid sick days to American workers" (Sanders). The United States is the only major country in the world that doesn't have a paid leave for workers, Bernie Sanders was working to end that issue.Despite not winning the election, Sanders still had an optimistic view on how it would turn out."In these stressful times for our country, this election must be about bringing our people together, not dividing us up" (Kelly). He is realistic enough to know that not everyone has the same political views, but Bernie Sanders still wanted to bring people together. He believed that the election was much more important than just choosing a president. It was about bringing awareness to issues that our nation hasn't been focusing on, and he definitely did that. Sanders' hopes that people will continue to fight for these issues, as they have been with things such as the Women's March.Bernie Sanders has been fighting for the rights of minorities such as the LGBT community since the 1960s. His campaigns have been built around being caring for everyone not just certain groups of people. Being inclusive is vital for any politician to succeed and Sanders has shown how it can bring groups of different people together for the better.


 (https://www.popsugar.com ())
(https://www.popsugar.com ())

By being courageous, having integrity, and being inclusive Bernie Sanders has proved that he is a hero.The courage Bernie Sanders possesses is the reason why he is such a successful politician and person. His integrity enables people to listen to his message and interpret his ideas. Bernie Sanders has been fighting for the rights of all people since the 1960s, and he believes that people should all have certain fundamental rights no matter what race, gender, or sexual orientation. Sanders is on the side of the people, and wants the best for our nation. He does everything he can to help people and make their lives better, whether they're part of a minority or not. He has been fighting for minorities and the working class since a very young age, and will never stop. Throughout the election process he changed the way people think about many forms of politics and he has opened the idea of socialism to our nation. He may not have won the presidential election, but Bernie Sanders did so much more, he started a political revolution.

Works Cited

Delmont, Matthew. "Bernie Sanders and the Unsung Struggle for Civil Rights in the North."The Atlantic, Atlantic MediaCompany, 27 Apr. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/bernie-sanders-and-a-civil-rights- turning-point/479739/. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Kelley, Lauren. "Watch Bernie Sanders' Inspiring DNC Speech." Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 July 2016, www.rollingstone.com/politics/videos/watch-bernie-sanders-inspiring-dnc-speech-w430901. Accessed 4 May 2017. 

SANDERS, BERNIE. OUR REVOLUTION: A Future to Believe in. S.l.: ST MARTIN'S, 2017. Print.

SANDERS, BERNIE. "On the Issues: Racial Justice." Bernie Sanders, Bernie, berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/. Accessed 4 May 2017.



Page created on 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/17/2017 12:00:00 AM

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