Right now, is our time. For months if not two years, we’ve thought and worried about the upcoming November 8th election. And right now, might be the last chance we have to influence the outcome and to vote. Right now, our future is created, our wishes, needs, and dreams recognized or worst fears realized. In some states, early voting has begun. In Georgia, for example, it begins October 17. If we act now, we can help secure the immediate future we need and hope for.
On the one hand, Democrats have worked for our interests, not always as well as we’d hope but as much as we could expect considering the nature of their opposition– considering that so many in the GOP are still lying about the election that Biden clearly won. Democrats made mistakes, but so have we all. They’ve passed some of the most important legislation in decades, to protect our health, environment, jobs, and education. And they’ve done this even though much of the press refused to emphasize the good they’ve accomplished, the gains made by Biden, in terms of concerns like protecting labor and making healthcare more equitable.
On the other hand, besides perfecting the bald-faced lie, the GOP are firmly the party of autocracy if not White Nationalism. They cry about freedom, but want the freedom restricted for themselves. They oppose⎼ voting rights for all, choosing who we will vote for and having our vote counted; they oppose protecting the right for women to make health decisions for their own body, deciding if and when we have children, who we will marry, if we will have clean air to breathe or a climate that sustains human life. They oppose allowing us to decide what we will read and if we can afford to go to college.
The GOP, as signaled by Justice Thomas in the Dodds decision overturning Roe v Wade, threatened to destroy marriage equality and even the right of access to contraception. The GOP talk about rising inflation and problems in the economy, but these are problems their policies have helped create or worsen, by reducing taxation on the rich and increasing the sickening and unsustainable wealth gap. When taxes on the rich are lowered, economic threats arise and the rest of us are forced to make up the deficit. According to the latest Federal Reserve data, the top 1% of Americans hold more wealth than the lowest 50%.
Always remember, and bring this to the voting booth⎼ Autocracy means only one person, or group, is free⎼ and DJT is all about himself and rule by himself alone. For the rest of us, the vast majority of us, autocracy means oppression; it means possible incarceration without due process and the end of the rule of law. It means the whole vehicle of political and economic power is driven by the interests of only one person or group and they can run over the rest of us as they please. When you have no political power, all your power and freedom is curtailed.
Autocracy means living in fear and surrounded by hate. This is one reason why DJT and many GOP have supported Russian disinformation about Ukraine and the 2020 election. They want to unite with fellow oppressors and these GOP have become soldiers for autocracy. Putin knows he can’t defeat the U. S. with arms, so he is trying to destroy democracy with lies.
So right now, we must do all we can to get access to the news and get out the vote. Democrats, if we support them, have a good chance of keeping or even increasing control in the Senate but the House is clearly threatened. We can give financial support to, or make calls for Democratic candidates, or write cards to voters in our own neighborhood, not only for Congress but for a state’s Attorney General who can regulate how votes are counted. We can work as poll workers or election protectors to ensure a fair and safe election and counter the GOP push to entrench adherents to do their bidding and undermine the election. We can work to protect journalists and get out truth. [Most of the links included in this paragraph provide ways to take action.]
During the DJT years, anxiety in the US increased dramatically. Trump Anxiety Disorder became a major psychological problem. Then the pandemic happened and anxiety increased even more, especially in Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American communities. Just before the 2020 election, anxiety increased and then decreased after President Biden was elected, although levels are rising once again.
Acting to win the election of candidates who will work in the interests of Democracy and for most Americans not only improves the chances of creating the political system we need, but of reducing the fear and anxiety many of us feel.
*Please consult the links above; in the first paragraph if you want to find the dates for early voting in your state. Or in the third to last paragraph, to find ways to help GOTV and elect Democratic candidates. Some GOTV campaigns are ending this week.
Daily Kos has a constantly updating page of possible actions we could take.
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Previously Published on irarabois.com and is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Flickr
