Senator Bernie Sanders held a local stop on his campaign trail in Boston, at the Boston Commons. Attracting over 13,000 people, old and young, to show their support for the leading Democratic candidate of this year’s competition for the coveted presidential seat. Bernie Sanders has been taking his campaign on a long and intense race against Republicans as well as his other Democratic counterparts; those who will not be dropping out as of the rest of the race at least. Senator Sanders has been making tremendous headway with his wins in the Iowa caucuses, as well as wins in New Hampshire and Nevada, it is no secret that Senator Sanders is going for the kill of the Democratic nomination. Campaign rallies are an aspect of politics that cannot be compared with anything else since it holds its place in a democracy. 

Bernie Sanders has been firing up the polls with skyrocketing supporters that many did not think he could pull together. Sanders supporters that vote at the polls were in attendance overwhelmingly at his rally. His support group includes young college students with multi-ethnic backgrounds, veterans, members of the extensive elderly community, disabled people, and families. were in attendance. Being in attendance to different kinds of people focused my perspective on how politics is suitable for everyone and how everyone should be prompted to be involved. Senator Sanders took the podium facing this big crowd and spoke about all the new policies that Sanders hopes to bring to all his supporter’s lives. 

Overall, the sight of this rally was overwhelming at first, to realize that so many people would wait in such long lines to stand and support one person and their voice. Even approaching the large crowd helps to bring into perspective how important involvement is in politics, and without it, democracy will be misshapen. In the crowd people were wearing their Boston sports teams memorabilia; Go, Patriots! – This enhanced the fact that-yes, Boston is a large gold mine of social influence. As alluded, this had been the first political rally I had ever attended. I have only been living in Boston since September, to begin attending Suffolk, and now I have this great opportunity to be more politically active, which most people do not have because of outer boundaries that society puts on them. The rally also was a great marker to show how politics is overlooked as being part of a popularity contest since numbers are a part of politics. 

However, how was this particular Bernie rally different than others he has hosted in the past? Tuesday, March 3rd, will be “Super Tuesday,” which is an early voting day for select states in the U.S., including California, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, Maine and..Massachusetts. It sounds like a convenient and strategic timing to host a campaign rally, Bernie. Super Tuesday is where the greatest number of delegates are up for grabs to have enough to qualify to become the democratic nominee. Not to mention how Massachusetts is the backyard of one of his Democratic opponents, and he is hosting the rally there to show he wants to gain more delegates.

The essence of what political rallies are were always intended to make a strong statement about displeasing values and policies that the government offers. In today’s political climate, political rallies are the main form of said advertising or endorsing a political candidate. Social media is also the main way that political rallies are promoted and the outcome of the reactions on social media has a lot to do with likeability in politics. The way that this rally was advertised to me, through an Instagram post, was to go support Bernie Sanders because he was the candidate to listen to your goals and dreams, to make them a reality. Politics rarely often is viewed as the place to invest and develop your dreams for the place you want to live in, and this race for president is less hopeful than 2008, let’s just say. Bernie Sanders appeals to the younger demographic of teens and college students because of the way he advertises that listening to the ideas of everyone is essential. So the way that emotions play a large role in politics is telling how Democracy is a form that can be influenced by the law as well as morality to have a civic duty. This is what this Bernie Sanders rally in the “Hub” of Boston is meant to symbolize.