you are so welcome. please share it widely. i'm doing what i can given who I am and those in my networks and my overall reticence to pound on people to do it my way.
I'm curious what you mean by a Kennedy Democrat? Does that equal Trump? I'm sincerely confused as Trump will Make American more Toxic Again and Kennedy is MAHA. that's the nature of this head spinning election. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JH844vHgcAS3CCU98lECkZYnh515z73s/view
I voted for Communist Party candidate Angela Davis back in 1979 and got criticized by my friends for wasting my vote and perhaps allowing Reagan into office. I have voted pretty much every election since 1970 when I came of age. My conservative Dad religiously voted for the Republican Party candidate except the Donald, when he did not vote for President. I consider voting a RITUAL that builds community. I think it is important for us to acknowledge our place as members of this United States of America, to acknowledge our neighbors as kin, to feel part of the greater whole. We are all part of the one. We don't exist without each other.
Secondly, I feel the need to comment on the words "ecosystem collapse". I don't think it does much good to use the word "collapse" other than to provoke fear in many of us and, for others, lead to a discounting of all that is said around the use of the word. I like the word "change" with an appropriate adjective. Is anxiety/fear what we need now? Perhaps.
We need to imagine alternatives to our lifestyles and promote that. Recognize that capitalism is a religion (from the historian Yuval Harare). Recognize that now, the great majority of us are safer than any time in history. Recognize the personal and cultural trauma and mindsets that lead to candidates like MJ Greene and the Donald. Acknowledge and work to reduce the stress and trauma. Embrace the expressions of what is a broken culture. Do I hear "cultural ecosystem change"? ENJOY OURSELVES!!!
Finally, my attitude is: vote our hearts. Advocate for what we know to be true. Be curious about why the results are what they are. AND work for the world we know is possible. "Be the change you wish to see". There will be political "ecosystem change/collapse". There will be nature "ecosystem changes". It is part of life. May we be resilient and committed to work for the changes to create a world we know is possible and accept the reality of the present moment.
what rich thoughts marc, thanks for taking the time. yes, it's ecosystem change, but it's also collapse of the systems that allowed for this civilization. and my point is, we may find a way to roll with the roiling changes, but many of our sisters and brothers in the natural world - and in poorer countries - are getting wiped out through no fault o their own, and to me it's important to see the consequences for those who are kin but not right close in community. and yet, it's also true that life goes on and certainly you and I are doing our best.
Much as I care about legislative issues, foreign policy, and fearmongering about immigrants, to me, one threat matters above all, that to the rule of law. We have a candidate who insists he won an election that he in fact lost; who either permitted or encouraged a private army to storm the Capitol to help him retain power; who has promised to pardon the insurrectionists convicted of that crime; has threatened to prosecute anyone who, by word or deed, validated the election results or attempted to hold him accountable; did, as president, direct the Justice Department to go after critics such as James B. Comey, Hillary Clinton, and various newspapers, among others, often costing the defendants millions in legal fees; has contended that the criminal trial that convicted him was unfair and illegal, and that the judge should be prosecuted; has somehow managed to persuade legions of credulous followers that he's a victim who's telling the truth; and has bent elected representatives to swear fealty to his private narrative, including those who huddled in the Capitol the day his insurrectionists attacked.
So I ask those who are refusing to vote "on principle" how that principle measures up to a contempt for the Republic and the law on which it is based.
It can be said that the fate of the world rests on this election. Kamala Harris will carry on with the battle for climate sanity. She will fight for reproductive rights. She will do her best to balance wealth inequality. She will strive to preserve international law and to shore up Ukraine in her battle against a hostile takeover by Putin’s Russia.
And, at the end of either her 1st or 2nd term, she will relinquish power willingly.
She can’t overcome single handedly the vast evil powers of runaway capitalism. No president can.
But she is more than fit, she is smart, kind, and competent.
I will not go into the issues with the other guy. Just watch the news.
I will say though, if you are truly undecided, and that indecision is causing you to cast your eyes on a 3rd party, please do stay home. If you can’t bring yourself to cast a vote for the only sane choice in this election, do us all a favor and stay home.
Thank you for writing the most cogent and relatable explanation to offer folx who want to sit out voting in this election!
you are so welcome. please share it widely. i'm doing what i can given who I am and those in my networks and my overall reticence to pound on people to do it my way.
Definitely not sitting it out but will vote for Trump. I think I've turned into a Kennedy democrat after 66 years in Baltimore City
I'm curious what you mean by a Kennedy Democrat? Does that equal Trump? I'm sincerely confused as Trump will Make American more Toxic Again and Kennedy is MAHA. that's the nature of this head spinning election. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JH844vHgcAS3CCU98lECkZYnh515z73s/view
I voted for Communist Party candidate Angela Davis back in 1979 and got criticized by my friends for wasting my vote and perhaps allowing Reagan into office. I have voted pretty much every election since 1970 when I came of age. My conservative Dad religiously voted for the Republican Party candidate except the Donald, when he did not vote for President. I consider voting a RITUAL that builds community. I think it is important for us to acknowledge our place as members of this United States of America, to acknowledge our neighbors as kin, to feel part of the greater whole. We are all part of the one. We don't exist without each other.
Secondly, I feel the need to comment on the words "ecosystem collapse". I don't think it does much good to use the word "collapse" other than to provoke fear in many of us and, for others, lead to a discounting of all that is said around the use of the word. I like the word "change" with an appropriate adjective. Is anxiety/fear what we need now? Perhaps.
We need to imagine alternatives to our lifestyles and promote that. Recognize that capitalism is a religion (from the historian Yuval Harare). Recognize that now, the great majority of us are safer than any time in history. Recognize the personal and cultural trauma and mindsets that lead to candidates like MJ Greene and the Donald. Acknowledge and work to reduce the stress and trauma. Embrace the expressions of what is a broken culture. Do I hear "cultural ecosystem change"? ENJOY OURSELVES!!!
Finally, my attitude is: vote our hearts. Advocate for what we know to be true. Be curious about why the results are what they are. AND work for the world we know is possible. "Be the change you wish to see". There will be political "ecosystem change/collapse". There will be nature "ecosystem changes". It is part of life. May we be resilient and committed to work for the changes to create a world we know is possible and accept the reality of the present moment.
what rich thoughts marc, thanks for taking the time. yes, it's ecosystem change, but it's also collapse of the systems that allowed for this civilization. and my point is, we may find a way to roll with the roiling changes, but many of our sisters and brothers in the natural world - and in poorer countries - are getting wiped out through no fault o their own, and to me it's important to see the consequences for those who are kin but not right close in community. and yet, it's also true that life goes on and certainly you and I are doing our best.
#TrumpIsWhatMustBeDone - time to prune the branches that don't bear good fruit!
Much as I care about legislative issues, foreign policy, and fearmongering about immigrants, to me, one threat matters above all, that to the rule of law. We have a candidate who insists he won an election that he in fact lost; who either permitted or encouraged a private army to storm the Capitol to help him retain power; who has promised to pardon the insurrectionists convicted of that crime; has threatened to prosecute anyone who, by word or deed, validated the election results or attempted to hold him accountable; did, as president, direct the Justice Department to go after critics such as James B. Comey, Hillary Clinton, and various newspapers, among others, often costing the defendants millions in legal fees; has contended that the criminal trial that convicted him was unfair and illegal, and that the judge should be prosecuted; has somehow managed to persuade legions of credulous followers that he's a victim who's telling the truth; and has bent elected representatives to swear fealty to his private narrative, including those who huddled in the Capitol the day his insurrectionists attacked.
So I ask those who are refusing to vote "on principle" how that principle measures up to a contempt for the Republic and the law on which it is based.
It can be said that the fate of the world rests on this election. Kamala Harris will carry on with the battle for climate sanity. She will fight for reproductive rights. She will do her best to balance wealth inequality. She will strive to preserve international law and to shore up Ukraine in her battle against a hostile takeover by Putin’s Russia.
And, at the end of either her 1st or 2nd term, she will relinquish power willingly.
She can’t overcome single handedly the vast evil powers of runaway capitalism. No president can.
But she is more than fit, she is smart, kind, and competent.
I will not go into the issues with the other guy. Just watch the news.
I will say though, if you are truly undecided, and that indecision is causing you to cast your eyes on a 3rd party, please do stay home. If you can’t bring yourself to cast a vote for the only sane choice in this election, do us all a favor and stay home.