“Feel the Bern! Feel the Bern! Feel the Bern!”
“This is what democracy looks like!”
“Corporate greed has got to go!”
These chants and more could be hard around Boston Common this Saturday as hundreds of New Englanders gathered to show their support for Bernie Sanders. Sanders, a democratic socialist from Vermont, is currently running in the democratic primaries against Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley. Sanders, a virtually unknown candidate at the beginning of the race, has been climbing in numbers and is now polling neck and neck with Clinton in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
The event, named March for Bernie, was part of a nation wide movement that involved major cities all over the country simultaneously marching to show their support for the candidate. It began in the middle of Boston Common, where signs and buttons were distributed and speeches were given by local activists. The congregation then marched around Boston Common, chanting pro-Bernie slogans, brandishing signs, and attracting the attention of passer-bys. The march ended on the steps of the Statehouse, where more speeches were given in support of Sanders, one by a city-councilwoman from Chelsea, Massachusetts.
The event was truly a representation of Bernie’s campaign. Sanders has long touted the need for a political revolution, but has repeatedly reminded the US citizens that revolution does not start in the White House, it starts on the streets. Changes in the United States will not be made unless the people demand for it, unless they start participating in government and making their voices heard. This rally was exactly that; citizens coming together to not just support a politician, but to support positive change, and become active participants in democracy.
Bernie would have been proud.