Dear Bernie,

As I sit on the campus of UC Berkeley writing this, I want to thank you for all that you’ve done in this 2016 presidential primary. For representing how and of what the real progressive cause should be defined.

Thank you for working tirelessly and without complaint. Your youthful energy is inspiring. I know that as I pursue my professional goals, I will have your effort to remind me to persevere. I anticipate stories will be told well into the future about how Bernie Sanders, presidential candidate, actually flew coach more than once during his campaign.

Thank you for fighting for college students. This was the reason that you came onto my radar. You, the Senator from Burlington, Vermont, made your first appearance in my social media feeds in 2015 and found a home there — probably much to the exasperation of my friends. Obedience is often preached by the old to the young, and you were a resounding example of a middle-aged (at least in spirit) adult who made it his mission to fight for young people. There is no reason that the functional equivalent to a public high school education in the 1960s should be so financially strenuous for American families.

Thank you for fighting for a reasonable minimum wage. Progressives know that only powerful, monied interests promote the illusion of “trickle-down economics.” Americans should not be working full-time and living in poverty. Like you articulate, it is a disgrace that corporate welfare still exists. Companies dripping in cash should pay their workers living wages instead of giving their CEOs money for second and third yachts.

Thank you for showing that fighting for rights for the LGBTQ community and people of color is not something that we can just do when it is politically expedient. It is a lifelong commitment that you, in particular, have embodied. It is no accident that a politically conscious rapper (Killer Mike) compared your efforts to those of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The institutional racism of our criminal justice system is unacceptable and should be a primary concern of our politics. You allowed Black Lives Matter activists their time to take the microphone at one of your events. This was no accident and is a shining example of your care for the issues and your understanding that sometimes it is time for a white American man to sit and listen.

Thank you for your stubbornness and feistiness. I must say I was a bit worried in your first two or three debates, Bernie, that you were going to be too “nice” and passive. Your firm stance in keeping “a positive campaign” was something that concerned me. You knew your opponent was playing all her cards, and it was only fair that you do the same. You did it within reason, and I loved it.

On that note, thank you for being the first candidate to take the proverbial high road in this primary season. Removing “the emails” from the political debate ushered in a signature claim of yours: debate the issues and only the issues. You had political points on a silver platter, and you denied them for the junk food they were. I don’t think many people could do what you did against such a powerful and renowned American name. Our media gobbles that stuff up and you said emphatically that you wouldn’t permit trivial attention grabbers on the national stage.

Thank you for showing what the media doesn’t: American political parties should be carefully analyzed. Party politics and political ideologies are vastly different. I came into the primary election as a registered Democrat and I am leaving it questioning that allegiance. Just because the other major party offers a prejudice-filled, spoiled billionaire does not mean that we must accept the lesser of two evils. The chair of the Democratic National Committee is atrocious in her own right. A third party is appealing to many voters like myself.

Thank you for calling out the corrupt world of campaign finance and money in politics. There is a lot to be said for wearing a $12,000 dress during a speech on inequality and taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars at private events for Goldman Sachs. $37 per contribution was one of the numbers among a fluctuating average that I recall repeated during your candidacy as the average contribution given by donors like myself. That is who should sponsor American politics, not the NRA and large, wealthy interests.

Thank you for showing that Democratic socialism is not a dirty term but a moral philosophy. Discussion on the distribution of wealth is hushed by those interested in keeping the status quo. You elucidated that the American economy will continue to be fatally flawed if we accept the status quo. This is not about subsidizing lazy people, it’s about creating a moral economy. It was no accident that the Pope chose to meet with you, a Jew, to discuss this topic specifically. You bridge gaps to unite rather than build walls to divide. Corporate money stashed overseas, low tax rates for corporations, tax evasion for the ultra-wealthy, and the carried-interest loophole are a few examples of big economic issues that you’ve addressed. As Robert Reich says, this is not an argument of government vs. free market. The government determines the rules of the free market. And you, as a candidate, strove to create morally reasonable rules.

Thank you for saying healthcare is a right for everyone. I was told from an early age that if you don’t have your health, you don’t really have anything. Part of President Obama’s legacy will be the Obamacare legislation, but we cannot accept high premiums and deductibles and still have people uninsured. Healthcare is a right and that cannot be more firmly stated. This is certainly a reason why I am excited to make my difference with a career in the medical field.

Thank you for tying together all of these issues under the umbrella of our economy. This was your signature issue. Opponents can call out your inexperience in foreign affairs (while apparently simultaneously voting for deadly wars or trying to oust foreigners from American soil altogether), but your supporters know why economic issues are so important. Other candidates joked that you were a one-issue candidate. They couldn’t see that campaign finance influenced elected officials who created policy on healthcare, human rights, the environment, the economy, and campaign finance itself. You connected and deconstructed the issues effortlessly.

Thank you for taking a stand on guns. Does our society mean much for those that we allow to be killed? Our country has a history of defending the second amendment literally to death. A ban on assault weapons, like you suggested, is a step in the right direction. Any candidate or person who thinks you are soft on guns because of a vote you made, yet doesn’t see the connection of economic issues to social and political issues, is woefully hypocritical. And they need to check the rating the NRA gives you. Hopefully one day, whether it’s in the Senate or elsewhere, you can convince some conservatives that the NRA should not be the reason that we permit mass murderers and hate-filled men like the one in Orlando to get military-grade weapons. And hopefully the CDC will be legally allowed to conduct research on said weapons. Please help bridge the partisan gap and get this done.

Finally, thank you for standing up for women’s rights. I will never understand how one party insists on regulating a woman’s body and you managed to keep a spotlight on this issue even though your primary competitor had the advantage of being a woman herself. Hopefully if she becomes president, by the end of her term there will be no place where we permit religious beliefs and misogyny to impinge upon a woman’s freedom to choose. It is ridiculous that a select group of men in politics desire to control the mental and physical health involved in procreation for women.

Thank you for doing this despite all of the institutional power from both sides that was thrown against you. You started from the bottom and now you, and your issues, are here — front and center. I hope that our resentment against the establishment that you tapped into will turn into something positive and not a bigoted 45th faux-conservative president.

On a personal note, thank you for being a laudable example of how a white male in America can promote justice, recognize privilege, and quite simply fight for what is right. Thank you for fighting for progress and a society that is tolerant, welcoming, and equal. You are a role model and an inspiration who brilliantly walked the rope back-and-forth from sympathy to empathy. The fight for justice continues but your contribution to the 2016 presidential primary deserves and has earned special recognition.

Very warmly,

Elijah