I have been an excited Bernie Sanders supporter from the first day he declared his bid for the Democratic nomination. And I have heard the many arguments against his election — on social media, radio, television, in print, during debates, and in person with both friends and strangers. The strongest argument against Bernie Sanders that I have heard thus far, is about the gridlock in Congress.

The argument goes like this — If President Obama couldn’t break-up the gridlock and get the Republican Party of No to reasonably engage, how in the world is a cranky old Democratic Socialist going to improve this situation? Shouldn’t we be practical, and get a President in office who will work with the Republicans, and work to find common ground?

Here’s the answer to this vitally important question —

We have already tried that.

And the result has been respectable, dignified, and … very, very, very scary and ineffective from the perspective of minorities, women, children, the working poor, anyone who needs loans for college, inner cities, our infrastructure, people who care about voter rights, the non-profit world, homeless individuals, people with chronic mental or physical disabilities, elderly people, people new to the workforce, people returning to the workforce after an absence, people accused of small crimes who find themselves in the criminal justice system, anyone who has an accident or illness that results in job loss, rural people with little access to infrastructure, widows, and soldiers returning to our country from active duty.

But, hey let’s do that again!

No, it is time for regime change. And Bernie Sanders is waking people up to this fact.

The other candidate for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, has made it a point of saying that she will follow in the footsteps of President Obama. And I believe her. But I am not even slightly inspired by her or the idea of four more years of the same policies and strategies.

On the other hand, I am deeply inspired by Bernie Sanders. The positions that Bernie Sanders advocates are not outlandish, fringe positions. They are common-sense and mainstream. He argues that working people need to be better represented in government, that voting should be easier, that college loans should be able to be refinanced, that no one should be getting rich from running the government, the prison industry, or the healthcare industry. That we need common sense gun laws. That women should be paid equal amounts. That we need to act on climate change. That large companies and the government have responsibilities.

The critical difference between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is not one of positions on issues. The critical difference is this — Bernie Sanders inspires people to get involved.

Notice he talks, over and over, about the need for a change in the establishment and about the need for people to be engaged.

We are where we are today as a country, with the middle class fighting for every breath, because we are not well-represented in government. And we are not well-represented in government because the average citizen doesn’t believe they are represented in government, so simply does not participate.

The truth is, no Democratic president is going to be able to manifest much change without an enormous amount of citizen involvement.

The candidate who will continue to involve citizens moving forward, is Bernie Sanders. He has woken the sleeping citizens! He is speaking truth to power with courage and integrity. He is representing our interests in a way that is different and finally, amazingly, believable.

When we vote for Bernie, we are voting for our country. We are voting for an end to the status quo. We are saying, enough! We will no longer sit quietly. We will stand up and fight against the oligarchy and the tyranny of the corporate and wealthy special interests. We will engage in our democracy. Because we are inspired.

Hillary Clinton does not inspire us. If she is the Democratic nominee, we will not feel magically represented in government. We will feel further disenfranchised, and more alienated. We will know that she is living in a world of money and power and privilege that is nothing like ours. She is interested in this power and privilege more than she is interested in making things better for the majority of the citizens of our great country. We know she does not care about us. We are not stupid. She doesn’t have a history of fighting for us. She has a history of fighting for herself.

Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, lives in a world that looks remarkably like mine and yours. He has always represented our interests. He has a long history of fighting for us. And he will ask us all to stand up against the special interests, the inherited wealth and power, and the corporations that are currently running our country.

And you know what will happen when he asks us to stand up with him, and help him create change?

Large numbers of people will stand up. We will stand up and put ourselves on the line when it matters. We will participate. We will mobilize, we will march, we will write letters, we will make phone calls, we will attend hearings, we will write laws, we will create media, we will take part in surveys, we will make art, we will fund initiatives, and we will vote.

We will become the American citizens our founding fathers intended us to be. Engaged. Emboldened. Responsible. Believing in the power of the law. Knowing the power of the people.

THAT is the real difference between the two candidates. And if you are undecided, or if you are finding yourself saying that you want to be practical and vote for the person who will get things done — it is Bernie Sanders that you should vote for in your state primary election. Because he is the candidate who inspires the people to act. And it is not the President who will change the gridlock in Washington. It is the people.