The #SwitchToBernie petition represents our society’s everlasting hope, while also exposing our modern outlook on life. With tens of thousands of people electronically signing the petition to get the democratic presidential nominee switched, the transient nature of our society is significantly influencing politics.

One does not have to be a Bernie Sanders supporter to understand the importance of the petition. Everyone knows about the unrest between Bernie supporters and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. As many are displeased with the democratic presidential nominee, their hearts are set on nominating Sanders. As Bernie encouraged his supporters to vote “with her”, the Sanders campaign slowly settled down.

Despite Sanders’ endorsement, his supporters have decided “enough is enough.” The leaked emails suggesting that the nomination process was rigged, only made matters worse. Recently, the FBI decided to reopen the Clinton email scandal. Since, hashtags such as #SwitchToBernie and #DropOutHilary have been trending on social media, and a petition started by Floridan Mary Chatter has gained over 60,000 supporters for the campaign to switch the democratic nominee.

While the petition represents America’s never dying hope for change, it also shows how the transient nature of society can greatly impact political outcomes. The world we live in today is filled with things that are transient in nature, as we are always going from one thing to the next.

People love their smartphones because they allow access to new apps and instant news. There is always something new popping up on the screen to pique our interest or to advertise. One can go from Snapchat, to Instagram, to Twitter, to iMessages, to Safari, and back to Snapchat- back and forth all day. People move onto the next thing so fast that they barely get a chance to understand what is going on.

The fast pace lifestyle is most noticeable during holidays. The week before Halloween, Christmas decorations can be found in grocery stores. People are so busy getting bored with the present, that the only way they can stay engaged is to live in the future.

This mindset cannot be used when it comes to politics. Presidential nominees are not like apps on iPhones Presidential nominees are not like apps on your iPhones or decorations in a store. It is not as easy to close one out and open a new one with the swipe of a finger. Nominees can’t be replaced like decorations on a shelf. The political process is anything but transient, so one cannot expect to flip flop sides so easily, especially this late in the race.

There is a process, and if one disagrees with it, they better have a reason. A good percentage of the supporters don’t actually have reasonable arguments for refusing to support Clinton; they just gather their opinions from invective tweets or posts. If people were to actually research and study the candidates, then last minute petitions like this would be seen as foolish. If supporters really wanted Sanders on the ticket, they wouldn’t wait until the weekend before the election to simply sign a petition, and they would have taken action right after the Clinton’s nomination. The last minute petition is a sign that society has such a transient outlook, that contemplating a change to the presidential nominee 5 days before the election seems plausible.