If You’re a US Citizen, PLEASE VOTE!
Jon over at Humanistic Paganism has a great post up, reminding us of the critical importance of voting—and voting Democratic—in Tuesday’s U.S. elections. The domination of the nation’s current politics by the party of Trump simply must end, and the first step must happen now.
I have just returned from the Freedom From Religion Foundation‘s annual conference in San Francisco. Among the presenters were atheists from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh who told harrowing stories about what happens when religion is allowed to drive politics. Trump and his evangelical supporters want similar draconian “morality” inflicted on our nation, but we have a tool that those presenters do not: elections with an actual chance of blocking Trump’s agenda and returning many state houses to the national party which hasn’t gone absolutely, reactionarily mad.
A lot of people have suffered and died, and continue to suffer and die, for the right to participate in their governance. Ours is by no means a perfect system, nor will all ills be magically righted in an election or two. But if you have the franchise, if you are an American citizen, it is absolutely essential that you make the effort to vote this week. If even only one of the Houses of Congress is wrested from the Republicans, their agenda can be thwarted. They will not be able to destroy social safety net programs that are firmly in their cross-hairs. They will not be able to proceed with the madness of Trumpism unimpeded.
Remember those many who sacrificed themselves for the right to vote, and exercise yours this Tuesday, Nov. 6. The stakes have never been higher.
8 Comments
Leave a Reply to Mark BaileyCancel reply
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Done!😎
I’m a little embarrassed to say, the “party affiliation” thing made much of the ballot easy to fill out, this time around. “Democrat, Democrat, Democrat: check, check, check. “Unaffiliated?” Nope. “Independent?” Nope. “Democrat, Democrat, Democrat. That’s it.
I may have just voted for a hamster, or some obscure invertebrate, but if it’s affiliation was “Democrat”: “Ding!”
Not supposed to be that easy, I know, but this year? Democrat. Somewhere, my parents- Unionized Democrats to their dying day- are grinning down at me.
When the Ship of State is righted, and in untroubled waters, I’ll go back to nuanced voting. This is NOT that time. Now is the time to rally ’round the proverbial flag.
Simmer down… seriously..
There was none of this hysteria as the previous administration screwed up so much of our life (“keep your plan and your Doctor… nope did not happen”).
You should certainly vote and afterwards turn off the reactionary news and go back to your normal life.
So done with the “Anti” people snivelling…
Just please don’t perpetuate the Clinton machine…
This comment hardly dignifies reply, but I think Humanistic Paganism did a good job. Your suggestion that the previous administration was equivalent in sheer evil to this one is simply bunk.
We’re progressive here. If you’re not, you should probably go somewhere else.
Oh, one more thing. This administration is the worst in history when it comes to the environment. We’re an *Earth-revering path* here. It makes zero sense to claim to be an Atheopagan and support Donald Trump.
Well, to be honest, I’m not sure I would qualify in anybody’s book as a “Progressive”- though there are certainly progressive ideas I support. For that matter, I’m not sure I’m a “Liberal” any more- “classic” Liberal, to be sure, but the definition keeps moving on me.
But, I don’t have to be progressive or liberal to recognize a false equivalence, when I see one, and, boy, was that a whopper!
Thanks for telling it like it is, Mark. See you on the other side of Tuesday.
Knowing you as I do, I think that by any population-normalized assessment you would come out as QUITE progressive. You’re pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ rights, environmentalist, pro-universal health care…those data points alone pretty much guarantee the label.
…. because getting people healthcare with a new doctor is just as bad as spurring the shootings of Jews, blacks, women and more, while bankrupting the federal budget, normalizing sexual assault, lying literally thousands of times, and stoking racism. Mark Bailey, did I get that right? Thanks – Jon Cleland Host