For many months now, Senator Sanders, Robin Hood of the American people, has locked horns with corporate darling Hilary Clinton on the democratic dance floor. During a span of time when his popularity soared–particularly with the middle class–Bernie had us dreaming that something remarkable might just happen. What that something was, we don’t know. In fairness I don’t think he did either.

In the end, Bernie lost. But no one can blame him. America is not ready for a peace-loving, nature-caring, worker-friendly socialist as a national figurehead. Hilary won because her opinions and future actions as potential president align with America’s most powerful group. That group, the one percent—as bitter as it is on the tongue to say it, is not the bulk of our 318 million citizens. Hilary had help Sanders never did. Bernie’s loss nevertheless showed us that the little guy still stands a chance, however minuscule a chance.

Let’s be clear on one thing: the Bernie experiment did not fail. On the contrary, it gave the American people a glimpse of a possible future if we stand together. Bernie united so many individuals from differing backgrounds because of his stances on equality, his defense of the middle class, and crucially, his connection to the average person. Simple as those points may be, this country has not seen a politician actively cultivate such a personal connection to the people for a long time. In past elections politicians have bombarded us with nationalism, threats about the economy, terrorism, and a general we’re-better-than-the-rest-ism that has made America a global laughing stock. If anything, Bernie served as a wake up call to the people of this country. We are not in control of our government. We decided to delegate power to representatives, who were only ever substitutes for our autonomous power, and because of our laziness a group of sleazy capitalists interested in making money have filled the void in a democracy without its citizens willing to take what’s theirs. It’s a responsibility we will have to teach our children if we want significant progress. Bernie is just one man. When he falls others must grab the flag we stand for and continue the struggle.

Bernie’s revolution, like so many others before him, will slowly fade away. This election, with Hilary’s undisputed win reveals just how influential money can be. She has dodged scandal after scandal even when the facts against her are in the open. If you cant beat ‘em, buy ‘em. It’s time we realize this government, without our informed consent, has bullied the world, taken more than it can pay for, fueled bloodshed and war and famine, all in our name while we sit behind screens arguing about our current state of decay. Bernie’s accomplishments are like a seed that needs to be watered so the roots spread and a new garden takes shape.

Grounded on civil discourse and a healthy hunger for revolution that takes account of every citizen, we can launch a new era of politics. An era where we the people are direct contributors to national policies, where politicians are no longer needed since every person is educated and understands the responsibility of being a free citizen.This will be an era of a radically different political system, so that people like Hilary or Trump are not allowed to waltz into the white house due to their financial strings.

Bernie gave us more than an entertaining election race. He reminded us of a very powerful idea: we the people are America, the government and its institutions, and we have the power for change if we organize and educate one another.

“The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself” -Plato

learn and educate,