Monday, July 11, 2016

Deserve this, Bernie

My nephew said something to me Saturday that I keep replaying, and it makes me tear up a bit.

Bernie Sanders has touched a very deep chord with my nephew. Too young to legally make campaign contributions, he's pitched in by buying up as much Bernie merchandise as he can afford, with his own allowance. He reads about the campaign obsessively. He tries to convince his more conservative classmates of the error of their ways. He's attended rallies. In short, he's represented for Bernie every way a high school kid can.

He had planned to spend his July and August volunteering for Bernie at the local headquarters. Because of how the campaign unfolded, the local HQ never materialized. He's trying to make peace with this. He's trying to maintain his enthusiasm for the process.

In January I gave him Making of a President 1968, which he's finally finished.

"Bobby Kennedy never got to be President," my nephew said, "but he lives on in you. Maybe I can keep working for Bernie like that."

Bobby Kennedy lives on in you. I never thought about it that way, but it's true. And it's beautiful.

Maybe I can keep working for Bernie like that. The way Sen. Sanders comports himself this week is very important. I hope he continues to earn the place he has in my nephew's heart.