Let's acknowledge what Bernie and the millennials have done [View all]

[Onlooker]

They supported an older Jewish man with a thick Brooklyn accent. I think there were many Hillary supporters who unconsciously or consciously had reservations about Bernie's electabality because of stereotypes that thrived in the past. There is an amazing quality of the millennials. As a gay man, I know. They have come to totally accept gays. It's not even a political statement for them. It's just natural. They are doing the same for transgendered and nonbinary individuals. They are the most accepting group, and that's why Bernie, to the surprise of most of us, was able to do so well. They heard only his ideas, and dd not otherwise judge him.

They shed the stereotypes of socialism and liberalism that have been around since at least the 1950s to create a new progressivism that recalls some of the best days in the United States, when the fight for economic justice was all powerful and secured for us the minimum wage, the 40 hour work week, Social Security, and so much more. They are bringing back the heyday of the Democratic Party and liberalism. Economic justice is now part of the conversation, and will remain so for at least a generation.

They energized a languishing Democratic Party that managed to lose both the House and Senate in a few short years. They forced Hillary to take a strong stand on gun control to distinguish herself from Bernie. They forced her to put forth very good proposals (not as good as Bernie's) on college funding, college loans, and the minimum wage. They forced her to modify her fracking stand to be much more environmentally friendly. They forced her to campaign and compete and organize in enough states that she is now able to orchestrate a 50-state strategy.

They have gotten thousands of people involved in running for local offices, setting up scenarios where in the next few years Democrats win back state houses. With a possible Democratic ascendancy in all areas of government, there is a chance that the United States will be reshaped in a way that would make FDR proud.

They brought millions of people to the polls, many of whom might not have otherwise voted. All these people now have an increased understanding of the importance of voting. They showed the young just how powerful they are. They created a mini-generation gap, and anyone who remembers the 1960s remembers that generation gap gave us the groundwork for women's rights, gay rights, free love, weed, and bold experiments in the arts. Already, the millennials have taken things to the next step by challenging our thinking on so many different fronts.

They gave voice to rural liberals who for so long have been largely ignored by the Democratic establishment and the city politicians.

They made the Republican Party look even more moribund, the party of the old white folk who long for the return of their special privileges and their narrow values.

They have set up the groundwork for a real political movement that has the possibility to keep Hillary in check, to elect a liberal Congress, and to force the Democrats to champion progressive causes.

They are giving us hope that income, jobs, climate change, equal rights, and education will be at forefront of future debates, without the muddled language of a cowardly Democratic Party that for too long believed it had to appear Republican in order to win elections.

They gathered in awesome rallies around the nation, creating a sense of political excitement that I think was even greater than in the 1960s. They generated more than 7 million individual donations, which is more than Obama got during his entire 2008 campaign! My god, this generation is so involved.

But, most importantly, I don't think the millennials are done. As Dylan said, "He who is not busy being born is busy dying." While I'm glad Hillary is the nominee, other than that, I feel safe putting my future into the hands of the millennial generation.