John Densmore

This wasn’t an acid flashback, although to my ears it sounded like one. Several months ago, I was with 27,000 people screaming for a disheveled, 74-year-old senator from Vermont. We were in the Los Angeles Sports Arena, where The Doors played in the 1960s. I remember the mass adulation, but that was for our lead singer in leather pants. Even though the white-haired politician has no colorful wardrobe, after he speaks, you want to hug him. Why? Because what Bernie Sanders says feels like the unbridled truth. And he says it loud!

Backstage I said, “It’s so refreshing, almost shocking to hear words that ring true ... out of a politician! You’re like the pope!” That’s why the mass appeal (pun intended).

Let’s not forget that just a couple years ago, in thousands of cities, across 82 countries, on every continent except Antarctica, the mantra that 1 percent owns the 99 percent got embedded in the world’s psyche. Gosh, that’s Bernie Sanders' main theme.

And he’s a minority! We’ve had an African-American in office who, at times, has been rather centrist. We now see that some Hispanic politicians (Rubio, Cruz) are as conservative as they come. And Maggie Thatcher didn’t exactly bestow motherly love. So, it’s not about race or gender any more. It’s about substance.

I met Barack Obama when he first threw his hat in the ring, when my jazz group played a rally in South Central L.A. I told him that recently my band got a star on Hollywood Boulevard, I was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, got a lifetime Grammy, but was more excited to meet him. Several years ago I thought, “Wow, in my lifetime I might see an African-American man and a woman become president of the United States!” Then several months ago I thought, “I’m really not that excited about Hillary Clinton. What’s wrong? I love smart women. What’s the problem? ”

Then, I googled the speeches of Bernie Sanders. Wow. My question had been answered. In an occupation that is filled with, excuse me, B.S., it is thrilling to hear truth coupled with passion. This guy seems to really care. And his record shows it. We’ve had really only two truly progressive presidents in the last 100 years: Franklin Roosevelt (possibly the most beloved prez in our history) with the New Deal, Social Security, and Lyndon Johnson with the Great Society, Medicare, the Civil and Voting Rights Acts. Obama tried, but it was difficult straightening his spine in the face of everyone across the aisle stabbing him in the back.

Hillary certainly will be a better option that any Republican contender, because as Cornell West says, “I always vote for the Democrat because they’re just a little kinder on the poor.” But where’s Hillary’s passion? And, of course, she has buildings full of people trying to get her elected, and corporate ties galore. Bernie has a few young, very savvy and smart tech heads who have managed to fill stadiums of rabid Sanders fans whose logo is: “Feel the Bern!” Bernie is trying to burn through the hypocrisy. Wow, again.

At the 2012 Burning Man festival, people built a giant replica of Wall Street and 60,000 people roared as various banks (Goldman Sucks, etc.) burst into flames.

It takes a lot of courage to take on a system that is almost broken, but Bernie remembers the positive values of the '60s and hasn’t forgotten the “terrible wrong” of Vietnam.

Eight years ago many felt that a black man, especially one with the middle name Hussein, could never get elected president. He won twice. And so, if a guy from Brooklyn can get elected in Vermont as an independent, then why can’t he get elected president of the United States?

John Densmore is a musician and author and was the drummer for classic rock band The Doors. Contact: @JohnDensmore on Twitter