Bernie Sanders tells young people to pursue justice, not politics as a career. He describes how as mayor of Burlington he mobilized hundreds of citizens and broke through the Democratic establishment. Real change comes from listening to your gut and having the courage to confront opposition.
Good morning, Believe Nation! My name is Evan Carmichael, my one word is believe, and I believe that entrepreneurs are going to solve all of the world's major problems. So to help you on your journey today, we're going to learn how to stand up for what you believe. Over to you, Bernie Sanders.
What advice do you have for young people who have a passion for politics and potentially want to pursue careers in politics and political and public service?
This is my advice, okay? I don't like the word passion for politics. What I prefer is— and you gotta go with me on the heart on this one— passion for justice, okay? A lot of people. You know, when you're a senator, you talk to a lot of people. And kids come up to me and they say, "Ah, I want to be a governor. I want to be president. I want to be a senator." And that doesn't interest me at all. What interests me is when somebody tells me they're concerned about the healthcare crisis in America, when they're concerned about poverty. How can they do something about that? There are a lot of ways you can do it. One of the ways is running for office. Not the only way. We're raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, not because of political decisions, It started with grassroots activism, actually. Then politics kicked in. So I would say, to answer your question, is number 1, go into your gut. Go into your gut. And that's not necessarily easy. What do you believe? What do you really believe? Think about it. It's not something you'll know right away. What are your passions? Do you have the courage to stand up to people who want to reject you or push you around? Okay, and if you have those qualities, jump in. I mean, politics and getting involved, it's been, you know, to me, an extraordinary ride. When I was mayor of Burlington, you know what we did? We literally broke down the door of City Hall. We almost literally did that. We took on an entire establishment, which, by the way, to answer the question, was a Democratic Party, and we took them, pushed them aside. We brought hundreds and hundreds of people into the political process. We started programs for young people, for old people, for women, in the environment, for the arts. It was an extraordinary experience with just so much excitement, so much energy. Alright, it was a lot of fun. But the main thing you have to do, don't do it if you're just thinking about it in your career. You follow what I'm saying? Think about it as a mechanism, one way that you can bring change to this world. And if that's what you want, Go for it and have the guts to stand up and fight for what you believe.
