Bernie Sanders, Boston, Feb 29,2020

We just got back from my first Bernie Sanders rally. I’m so excited I have to share my feelings. I’ve been a Bernie Sanders supporter since 2016. But living in Europe, most of the time, I never got to see him at a live event. My interactions with other Bernie supporters have been online.

Almost 60, I’m a bit lazy and have bad knees, so standing on my feet in the freezing Boston Commons, in the middle of a quasi epidemic, is not something I’d do for just anybody. But, this morning I woke up, saw the event on my feed, and I knew that him being this close meant I couldn’t resist the urge to go.

We set out with my daughter and her friend; we were late, so we took an Uber. The driver was a man from Rhode Island who was playing Luther Vandross. He wasn’t sure when the primaries were in his home state but promised he’d check. I gave him a Bernie sticker. He beamed a smile; maybe he’ll go vote, maybe, inshallah.

When we got there, the air was so cold it was painful to breathe, and the double-file lines were serpentine. By the time the rally was in full swing, there were some 10k of us cheering the senator. Because of my daughter’s knee brace, we were told we could go in the back accessibility area, where we were lucky to get up close to the podium. My heart started beating a bit faster; I remembered the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” tour when we got to our seats and realized how close to the stage we were. I hadn’t felt excited in this way since.

By the time Bernie took to the podium, forget Mick Jagger, I’ve never felt this excited, EVER. From the looks of it, the rest of the audience felt the same way. The place was hopping. It was a rare moment of public elation, which this jaded old soul never thought she could still experience! The cold, the bad knee and the fears of a looming pandemic all disappeared in that fuzzy bubble of collective hope.

Here’s the good news: he looks much more fit than I thought. They put a heater next to the podium (I was relieved to find out). His speech I had heard before but him giving the speech is what was different. I don’t know how to describe it, but there are these rare people in history who are so sure of where they stand in that moral arc of the universe that believing them is easy and emulating them becomes a necessity. Bernie exudes trust and leadership. I think that’s why we have a dire need for him at this juncture in the history of our republic. And I have never felt more at home saying this: our republic.

That is the secret of Bernie’s success: he makes a lot of people feel like this is our republic.

Our republic! Mine and yours. Some of us newer Americans need to stand on that mountain top (or on Beacon Hill) and declare at the top of our voices: this is my republic, too! Bernie’s rally did this for me. It lifted me and amplified my voice, my frustrations, my dreams and reconciled me to the American in me!

Do you know what was even more heartening to see? The young local and state representatives who introduced him, who ran on his platform and who are changing the landscape of politics locally and nationally. Bernie, you see, has inspired many to run for office. Like a true leader, he is about building coalitions and growing communities. Not only will Bernie Sanders win, he will win big, and he will empower the next generation of politicians to win. Together, they will restore our Congress to its proper place in our very sacred system of checks and balances which depends on a modicum of integrity among politicians. But more importantly, they will make more of us feel like we own our republic.