Monday, September 28, 2020
The upcoming election is considered by many to be one of the most important in our country’s history and, most certainly, is the most important one I have participated in over the past half-century. This is a good time for voters to consider not only the importance of their votes, but what they say about themselves as citizens and human beings. This time your vote will be a succinct expression of not only your political beliefs, but your values as well.
A vote for Joe Biden is, above all, a vote for traditional politics, bipartisanship, and playing by the rules of governance. It is also a vote for progressive but incremental moves on improving health care and protecting the environment. By most accounts, Biden is a decent man and highly respected politician with working class roots and a compelling life story of overcoming traumatic events in his family. He appears to sincerely empathize with those among us struggling to make ends meet. Basically a vote for Biden is a relatively safe one for voters seeking stability from their government and international relations based on mutual trust and respect.
A vote for Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a vote for continuing the most radical changes we have ever experienced in how our government works and the policies it promotes. It is a vote for consolidating power in the oval office to a degree far in excess of that allowed by the Constitution. The FDR years are the closest to matching the present administration for dramatic changes. A vote for Trump indicates you favor these changes such as reversing or revoking more than 70 rules on clean air, water, and toxic chemicals. That this administration continues to revoke the Affordable Care Act and its protection for insuring those with pre-existing conditions, does not bother you. Voting for Trump indicates you are fine with our drastically damaged image abroad and that our allies no longer trust us to honor our international agreements. Your vote also indicates you are fine with his cozying up to dictators and autocrats, willing to believe Putin rather than our own intelligence agencies. Your vote would also indicate your approval for his ignoring the Constitution by refusing to agree to a peaceful transfer of the presidency if he loses. Ask yourself how this makes our democracy stronger.
By voting for Trump you are willing to overlook his morally and legally questionable business practices both past and present. You also would seem to not be sufficiently bothered by separating families at our southern border and locking immigrant children in cages. His racist comments and sowing divisions among us for his political gain are okay with you. The list of things you would be ignoring with your vote goes on and on, not the least of which are his constant lying, bragging about sexually assaulting women, mocking the handicapped, never admitting that he is wrong, ignoring science, buying into wild conspiracy theories, denying climate change, and showing little empathy for the more than 200,000 American deaths claimed by the Covid-19 virus and that tens of thousands of those deaths resulted from his bungling the early response to the pandemic.
It is important that, before we vote, we consider what our vote will say about ourselves as human beings. If none of the above bothers you, then by all means, cast your ballot for Donald Trump. If you are appalled by Trump or simply fear his policies, but are not in love with Biden, not voting, or voting for a third candidate, would be, in effect, a vote for Trump. More than ever before, a large voter turnout is critical in determining who will win so keep in mind which party is working feverishly to prevent you from casting your ballot and, before voting, ask yourself if this effort makes our democracy stronger.
