I just had a very illuminating conversation with my son. This year will be the first that he’s eligible to vote. I’ve spoken with him off and on about politics over the years. I even got him to make some calls for the president in the last election. However this election cycle means so much more to him, which is why he’s really paying attention, as are his friends.

The first thing he told me was that everyone he knows (he’s got a large circle of friends and acquaintances) are afraid of Trump. His friends include people from every spectrum: male, female, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, straight, gay, Christian, Muslim, non-religious, and “spiritual.” All of them say that Trump is bad news for the country and they will show up at the polls to vote against him because they either are a member of one of the groups Trump has insulted, or they love someone who is a member of one of the groups Trump has insulted. He said they also thought Trump was a fascist with “Scary Hair.”

The second most interesting thing is that all of them are voting for Bernie Sanders. Now these are first time voters, kids who never participated in national elections, many of whom had no interest in politics until now. But my son said Trump didn’t get them interested in this election. He just gave them another reason to vote.

Bernie Sanders is the one who lit the fire beneath them.

Bernie is the one who got them to sit down and take notice. Bernie is the one who captured their imagination and attention, and Bernie, my son said, is the one who will get them to the polls. If he’s not the nominee, most, if not all of them say they’ll be writing his name in. Nobody else excites them or motivates them like Bernie. I asked him why Bernie? He said, “Because we believe him when he speaks. We know he’s telling the truth.” That's the kicker right there. He sees politicians--all politicians--as liars. His friends do as well. But Bernie resonates with them.

They trust him.

This isn’t just something that’s indicative of his close circle of friends, which brings me to my third and final point. My son is in his first year in college. His sociology professor polled the kids shortly before Christmas break about the primary. There are about 30 in the class. She asked each one if they were voting, and if so, who were they voting for. They wrote their answers down anonymously and dropped them in a box.

Of the 95% who said they were voting, 100% said they were voting for Bernie Sanders. About 70% said they’d be writing Sanders’ name in if he didn’t win. Their main issues of concern: Student Loan Debt, Health Insurance, Climate Change, and Jobs/Economy. I don’t know what the order of significance was for each of these issues, but those were the ones the kids cited as the most important.

I ended our conversation by telling my son to make sure his friends understand their significance in the upcoming primary and the election cycle overall. They will be the deciding factor. I also said the youth vote is the most unreliable of all, so they need to prove us old farts wrong by showing up on election day because Senator Sanders is counting on them.

And yes, my son has that Bernie shirt with the curse word. He bought it on his own, but his dad won’t let him wear it at home, so he’ll just wear it when he goes back to school. :-)