The great Millenial divide

Today is a major primary day. It might not be as big as the 15th of March, but it's still big. If you listen to major media and the polls, it would be easy to believe the narrative that Sanders will lose. Remember that the major media are on the side of Clinton. They seem to believe that their interests are served by sending Clinton to the White House. The major media seem to have little taste for Sanders. With 6 parent companies owning 90% of TV, radio and newspapers, we can see why.

One thing that gives me hope for the Sanders campaign is the evidence of support. I did a search for pictures of Clinton and Sanders rallies. The most striking difference in the pictures is this:

What we see above is the largest crowd I could find in a Clinton rally. That is the only one I could find that shows anything close to the true size of her rally. Now look at the picture below of Sanders:

Notice the size of the crowd. This crowd isn't an anomaly, this is typical. As I did my search, I noticed that most of the pictures of Hilary set against a crowd are fairly close. In other words, the frame is much tighter to prevent us from seeing the actual size of the crowd. With Sanders, there are tons of pictures like the one above, where we see that he's filling stadiums for his rallies. There is enormous support for Sanders at his rallies.

As USUncut points out, Hilary has been having a very hard time keeping up enthusiasm for her campaign. That lack of enthusiasm is evidenced by the smaller crowds and the strategic picture taking on the part of the media. the major media want to show you a picture of Clinton filling a stadium, but they can't.

There is an intergenerational divide that must also be acknowledged. Sanders is not our only hope. Judging by those crowds, there will be more. Over the past few months, I've seen many memes in social media pointing out that the outcome of the election depends on whether or not the Millenials will come out to vote. The major media are just now catching up (perhaps with some reluctance) to social media in acknowledging that the Millenials are the largest voting demographic in the country. This is the year that they overtake the Boomers.

Who are the Millenials? Pew Research identifies the Millenials as anyone between the ages of 18-34 in 2015. They are distinct from the Baby Boomers and the GenX'ers. Baby Boomers are 51-69 years of age in 2015. GenX is anyone between 35-50 in 2015. The GenX'ers will surpass the Boomers in 2028 according to Pew Research projections.

As Millenials come of age, vote and rise to power, there will be a wave of citizens who understand that accumulating money at the expense of the next generation is not creating or even conserving wealth. They understand that other countries (like Norway, Finland and Denmark) have figured this out, but that we're slow to do so. They're not happy with how their parents and grandparents have left them dangling in the wind. The succeeding generations will have to sort this out or perish. It is their only hope.

If you have money and use that money to discourage my vote, to reduce the value of my vote or to institute laws that make it harder for me to vote, that says more about your character than about mine.

If you use money to buy laws, then what you are saying is that your financial network, your financial resources and your demands by fiat are what determine the merits of the laws you seek to impose upon the rest of us. If my vote and/or my capacity to vote is reduced in any way, if you silence me, then there really is no debate at all.

This isn't just happening to black people. This is happening to the next generation of people. And the next one. They know they've been screwed. Unless they're planning on moving to some other country, they must know that their only way out is to vote and institute a government that works for everyone. The Millenials have become the largest voting demographic so unless they show up, the older generations, with their conservative ways, are going to retain their way of doing things, as if that's better than a new way of thinking.

There is a reason we have elections and politics. That reason is so that new blood can have a chance to assess how the older generations have ruled and to change it if need be. If you disenfranchise the younger generations, you tie their hands and prevent them from deciding their own fate. This is an unintended consequence of newer voter restrictions that have been put in place around the country.

There are some who say that from a policy standpoint, Clinton and Sanders are not that much different from each other and that either one would be far better than anyone in the GOP clown car. I agree with the latter and disagree with former proposition. I think there is a big difference in policy objectives between what has been stated so far by Clinton and by Sanders. But I also agree that either one would be better than any GOP candidate for office, I just think that Clinton is lot more conservative than Sanders. It would be nice if she didn't have an ongoing criminal investigation, too.

Clinton won all the Red States in the south so far and will continue to win them because she is more conservative than Sanders. When the Blue states start voting, then we will see if the Millenials will come out to vote. Of course, there is nothing wrong in helping to get the vote out, though. If you want to help, try phonebanking. It works.