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A recent speaker was local aspiring political candidate Antonio Sanders. Mr. Sanders describes himself as a \u201ctwenty-two year old living the life of a fifty-year-old man.\u201d Mr. Sanders comes from a family of activists, citing that his grandmother and great-aunt joined the march for Civil Rights in 1965. Sanders himself says he\u2019s been involved with politics since he was five years old. Growing up with his grandmother, her most common reply to complaining was, \u201cI didn\u2019t walk across that bridge to listen to you complain. Go do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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\u201cThe Government should work for and listen to the people it serves\u2026This is our country,\u201d Mr. Sanders said to the young people. \u201cNever let anyone tell you you\u2019re too young to speak up against injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This led into an interesting point. In US politics, the typical dichotomy is left versus right, but Mr. Sanders argues that the more important and truer battle is actually old versus young. Left or right, the elders are the group that is not only clinging to power but actively denying the younger generation the tools to learn. Many of the older generations, now in their sixties and over, are actively preventing young people from partaking in the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Unfortunately, rights can be revoked at any time. This is why voting is important. In the 2024 election, roughly ninety-three percent of the country refused to vote. It was not very long ago that minorities were not allowed to vote, and now voting itself is becoming more difficult, with officials closing down polls and revoking registration in several states, including Ohio. Mr. Sanders went on to say that the Obama Administration \u201ctricked\u201d people by making them think that in order to vote, you must be inspired. This is not true, and sometimes your only choices are less than ideal, but this is no reason not to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n
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available on Youtube.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
When asked about one thing he especially seeks to change should he get into office, Mr. Sanders said, \u201cJust One? Oh boy. I want to be a representative that people not only see that I care but show it in the way [my predecessors] have not.\u201d He went on to say that young people need to be mentored on effective leadership; this is one of the tools being denied by the older generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked what inspired him to pursue the path of a politician, Sanders said: \u201cI\u2019m tired of corrupt politicians. They refuse to address homelessness, food desserts, and the erosion of democracy. I couldn\u2019t sit by.\u201d He then revealed that last summer, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gave millions of dollars to the Cleveland Browns to build a stadium last summer. \u201cPoliticians should be models of what they want. If you want fair, play fair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked what young politicians can do to overcome the roadblocks, Sanders admitted that he\u2019s not aware of anything they can do, as the ones in power simply don\u2019t want to focus on young people. All the same, Mr. Sanders encourages young people to run or get involved somehow, even if it\u2019s just to vote \u2013 and next year, 2026, is an election year.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Mr. Sanders left with one final thought: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to live in a world where the air is not breathable.\u201d We are the ones who will inherit this broken system, and it\u2019s up to all of us to fix it, the sooner the better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"