Dear Bernie,

My name is Ben Shields, I am a student at the American School in London, I was born in 1999 and I believe you’re our last hope. I first learned of your Candidacy for President of the United States last Spring in class as I was writing and researching the 2016 election. I was tracking trends, polls and sentiment on social media and noticed that the vast majority of tweets, posts, and media stories were about Secretary Clinton’s Campaign, and the bloating Republican field. Even when you announced, the attention remained on the establishment candidates. This shocked me. It was more apparent than ever that the Washington establishment and the mass media had prevented the American political system from working as intended. Free speech in our political system had been supplanted long ago by Paid Speech. I knew about your platform and your record to some degree before you announced but I had to reintroduce myself knowing the mainstream media certainly wouldn’t do it for me. I knew right away that your announcement was an indication that this year would be different, that a major political shift was about to occur. As I became more and more familiar with your platform and your policies I became more convinced than ever that you are the best candidate for the highest office in the land and even though it seems to be an uphill struggle, I believe in you, I support you and I want to help you win.

Bernie, I am a student of history, I know our illustrious past. I know the grand American vision is supposed to come closer to fulfillment with every generation, however as you and many others have pointed out that trend has stopped. My generation as a whole will be the first to really have it harder than our parents, and as of now it isn’t looking like it will get better before it gets worse. However your candidacy has been a beacon of hope to a beleaguered America, an America that is tired of the “Tammany Hall” style corruption of our politics. Your campaign has inspired myself and so many of my fellow Americans to believe once more that we can fix a broken system.

Bernie, I love my country, I’m preparing to begin college and I have never in my lifetime felt so simultaneously optimistic and concerned for the fate of America. Your success in the face of nearly insurmountable odds has been a shocking revelation to the political establishment that Americans have woken up to the oppression of the political and corporate elite. Your Campaign without a Super Pac tied with the most powerful of challengers in Iowa and won New Hampshire in a landslide. I was up until 4am and 1am respectively to witness those victories, I tracked every second and I wasn’t disappointed. Despite Secretary Clinton’s wins in the South you’ve consistently gone from underdog to contender with a fighting chance nationwide sweeping much of the west and north. That is only achievable through a stalwart commitment to our nation, our people and our democratic process and it serves as a testament to your qualifications to lead this country.

Young Americans like myself have realized that the systematic political and economic subjugation of people for the benefit of the powerful and wealthy will not end until we rise up and end it ourselves! Previous generations, those now backing Hillary have forgotten so much of why we are motivated. They’ve forgotten feeling dissatisfied with their government. The baby boomers forgot protesting Vietnam and Generation X forgot fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. They’ve forgotten the recessions, they’ve forgotten the crises that defined America in the last 50 years. But most of all they’ve forgotten what they believed in, they now turn a blind eye to the suffering of a generation screaming out for reform just as they once did.

Gore Vidal’s thesis that we are The United States of Amnesia is today disturbingly accurate. This year more than at any point in our history, a single election will decide our future. All three branches of Government are at stake. This means who ever wins the general has at least two years of unprecedented control. The Democrats have a tremendous opportunity to have the first three consecutive Democratic Presidential terms since Truman in the 40s and to set the agenda for the future as FDR did in 1932.

America’s Youth are being denied too much: economic opportunity, safety from our own Police, a fair chance to participate in our Democracy, the freedom to chose our future! We want our country back, We want to go back to the days of ‘Trust Busting’, We want to restore ‘The New Deal’, We want to fulfill the dream of ‘The Great Society’ and We know you are the only candidate who can accomplish this, we know that if this is to be another American Century then Bernie Sanders must be elected. This primary is not only about what kind of party the Democrats should be, it’s about deciding if there will be a Democratic Party. I urge older voters who’ve read this far and who are planning to vote for Secretary Clinton to consider the following: Bernie Sanders is ultimately a New Deal Democrat who is fighting for you. He has campaigned and fought his entire life so that everyone can share in the American Dream. He believed in and supported Dr. King’s Dream in the 60s and still intends to make it a reality for us all. Bernie wants to end the ‘private prison industry’ which gives economic incentives for incarcerating more people and for longer periods of time; an industry unlike any in the civilized world which harms people for profit. Bernie’s immigration policy will keep families together and foster the American Dream, he will protect your constitutional and civil rights, he isn’t afraid to take on the corruption of our political system and he will stand up to Wall Street, the Big Banks and Super Pacs. Polls show he is more likely to beat the Republicans than Secretary Clinton in every scenario. Bernie is so much more than his opponents make him out to be. I, despite being unable to vote in this election, can proudly say that I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure our constituents and Super Delegates choose the right candidate for the Presidency. Bernie, the eyes of the world are upon you, The Sons and Daughters of the Republic turn to you. The Stakes have never been higher. Failure is not an option. There are moments of reckoning where the course of history is decided by the ship of state, and you must be at the helm. I, like millions of other Americans can proudly say:

“Bernie, I’m with you”

-Ben T. Shields