Feeling the Real Burn
Before I heard that Bernie Sanders stepped out of the race, I received a text from a young Latina friend. She was devastated. She wrote that she was scared and had lost all hope for working class families. She needed reassurance and wanted to know where we go from here.
As a young immigrant who had overcome extraordinary obstacles to graduate from college and find meaningful employment, she felt like an outsider. Yet again.
Bernie, or Tio Bernie, as many young Latinx supporters called him, represented so much more than the media’s overused “democratic socialist” title. Bernie as President was a chance for them to finally be heard, an opportunity to be seen and valued and understood as true Americans.
I understand their hopelessness and feeling of betrayal by our nation. I felt the same way when Trump was elected. I woke up that next morning needing to console my tearful seven-year old daughter, who was consumed with a sense of deep loss and fear. She wanted me, as her mother, to be able to explain what happened, why it happened and how I was going to fix it. I had to admit that I did not have the answers she sought, but I did know the election showed us just how much pain there is to heal in America and that we all have to assume the mantle of healers as there is enough hurt in the world. More than ever, I told her, this was now our moment to work harder, listen better, open our eyes wider and be kind to each other.
But I didn’t do that. I mean, I tried. I doubled down working at my non-profit feeling frenzied and furious. The shock sped me up and forced me to rush into actions versus making strategic decisions. That was a mistake. I spun my wheels and am not clear I made any meaningful difference.
But now we have a do-over. Enter Covid-19. A forcing mechanism to slow down, think carefully and be deliberate. I am certain that was what Bernie did as he made the difficult decision to “step aside” and give up the path that looked so clear to him just a few months ago.
So to my young, vibrant, brilliant and beautiful friend (and those Bernie supporters who feel as she does — alone, confused, scared and stunned), I would say to stay there for a moment. Allow yourself to grieve this loss. You do not have to take action today or even tomorrow. Bernie understood you and represented what you stand for and believe this country should be and now he will not be our leader or even our vice-leader. That hurts and that disappointment is real. Sit with it. We will wait.
Then, re-emerge in this crazy time and crazy world. Wake up slowly, take your time but come back to us so we can figure out how to best unite against a most formidable opponent. While I was not originally excited about our current candidate, I vowed to work for anyone who ran against Donald Trump. So here I come.
Together, we have to navigate this moment in our nation’s history without a road map. So please come forward with your ideas, your passion and your demands. Make all of us hear your words, look at your faces, and follow your lead. This country is yours just as much as it is mine.
Let’s strategically and thoughtfully, as we breathe through this pandemic, double down on our vision of what this country can be. Let’s create the direction and road map to make the journey easier for those who do not have a voice. The work is never easy but it is critical — to our communities and to our country. Let’s take care of each other, be a little kinder, generous and patient. We have nowhere else to be but right here right now.
So please, take some time to heal from this loss and then get back up and let’s start fighting. We have work to do. Together.
