It’s a rough time for liberals and many conservatives alike. The 2016 Presidential election and many state and local elections have resulted in some surprising, often disheartening results.

The American people have spoken, and the resounding message has been that we, the people, are tired of establishment politics.

Many people agree that neither candidate offered a vision for the future we could fully embrace: we had a choice of politics-as-usual with Hillary Clinton, or a radical upset of the status quo with Donald Trump. Change, many people decided, was better than more of the same.

Oh, Bernie Sanders, how we could use your guidance about now.

Bernie was the candidate who quite possibly could have beaten Trump. He’s the one who got away, as far as many Americans are concerned. But he hasn’t left us to wallow in our decisions. In fact, he sent us all a message in the form of an op/ed in the New York Times titled “Where the Democrats Go from Here,” published November 13.

Throughout his campaign, Bernie told Americans that polls showed he had a far better chance of defeating Trump than Hillary Clinton. Popular vote aside, we proved him correct.

In the Times article, Bernie tells us: “I am saddened, but not surprised, by the outcome. It is no shock to me that millions of people who voted for Mr. Trump did so because they are sick and tired of the economic, political and media status quo,” he wrote.

“President-elect Trump is right: The American people want change. But what kind of change will he be offering them? Will he have the courage to stand up to the most powerful people in this country who are responsible for the economic pain that so many working families feel, or will he turn the anger of the majority against minorities, immigrants, the poor and the helpless?”

He says he will continue to be involved in creating policies we can all believe in:

“Let’s rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of well-paying jobs. Let’s raise the minimum wage to a living wage, help students afford to go to college, provide paid family and medical leave and expand Social Security. Let’s reform an economic system that enables billionaires like Mr. Trump not to pay a nickel in federal income taxes. And most important, let’s end the ability of wealthy campaign contributors to buy elections.”

And, in true Bernie fashion, he rallies us all toward unity and progress:

“When my presidential campaign came to an end, I pledged to my supporters that the political revolution would continue. And now, more than ever, that must happen. We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. When we stand together and don’t let demagogues divide us up by race, gender or national origin, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. We must go forward, not backward.”

Thank you, Bernie Sanders. Regardless of who we cast our votes for in this election, you have been and continue to be a guiding light in a political storm that has left many of us feeling lost and unrepresented. Thank you for not giving up on us. We still feel the Bern.

Here is Bernie’s op-ed piece in its entirety.

Relephant Bonus:

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Author: Amanda Christmann

Image: YouTube Still

Editor: Travis May