Neither of these approaches feel appropriate right now. In the last two weeks, fifteen people have been murdered because of hate, hate which our "president" stokes every time he opens his mouth. Bombs were sent to public officials and private citizens who disagree with the 45 or who have spoken out against his administration. Multiple activists in Ferguson, MO have died in the last several months under suspicious circumstances, including a possible lynching. People are more concerned that young men (young, white men, let's be specific) are at risk of being accused of sexual assault or rape than the fact that 1 in 3 women will be assaulted in her lifetime. Who have we become that these are the realities of 2018?
I'm not naive. I, like so many other people, know none of this just happened because Trump got elected. Racism, misogyny, homophobia, tranphobia, religious hatred aren't new, but they seem to be more pervasive today than they have been in the last several decades. We're supposed to be a country where differences, politically, socially, religiously, etc., etc., make us stronger, more interesting, more accepting, more revolutionary. The problem is that we've let the small-minded opinions and beliefs of a faction within this country take over. We've let the hatred of a very small man, who will say anything to remain in power, cloud who we are as a nation.
So, I'm torn on what to say this week as we near a very important midterm election. I know I'm not going to change anyone's mind if they are set to vote for a candidate who has been endorsed by the 45 or his party. Chances are you're voting for that person because he or she believes in an issue in the same way you do. They're "pro-life," until the baby is born and then they cut funding for vital services that might help that child like public schools, healthcare services, and free school lunches. Or maybe they believe in gun rights even when those rights put guns right into the hands of domestic abusers and domestic terrorists, who use those guns to kill people who they hate. You vote for them even when they use the language of Nazis and hatemongers. You don't use that language, but you support someone who does. You say you're not racist or sexist or Islamaphoic or homophobic. I hate to be the one to tell you, but when you vote for candidates who are, even if you say you aren't those things, you are. When you support a racist candidate, you're supporting racism. When you support a homophobic or transphobic candidate, even if you support LGBTQ rights, you are supporting hate. When you support a pro-life candidate, you are saying that women don't deserve agency over their own bodies. When you support the confirmation of a man who has been accused of sexual assault, you are saying his life is more important that the accuser's. You are supporting the very things that are causing division and what is fundamentally wrong with this country.
But I'm not going to change your mind. A few weeks ago, I went to see playwright Eve Ensler and author Anne Lamott discuss their new books and the state of things in this world. Ensler is one of my favorite playwrights and has been a tireless activist in the campaign to end violence against women and girls. During the talk, moderator Jacki Lyden, asked Ensler a question about the open letter she wrote to white women supporting the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh. If you haven't read it, take a few minutes to check it out on the Time website. In the letter, Ensler doesn't spend time discussing all the reasons women shouldn't support Kavanaugh. She knows, like me, that it's hard to change someone's opinion when they're set on a belief. Instead, she spends the time sharing her own feelings and experiences with abuse. She was abused by her father, and her mother never helped her. Her mother "sacrificed" her own daughter so that she could be safe within her marriage. This is what so many of you, particularly white conservative voters, are willing to do to continue supporting the Republican party. You're sacrificing your children, your grandchildren, the Earth, and democracy as it is in this country for your version of safety.
I'm not going to tell you not to vote - you should vote. It's your right and responsibility as a participant in this crazy thing we call American democracy. But what I will tell you to do is to take some time to think long and hard before you cast that ballot. Ask yourself if you can live out the rest of your life knowing you voted to send our country 50+ years back. Ask yourself if you can live with yourself when your children and grandchildren are left to clean up the dumpster fire you helped to create. Ask yourself what democracy actually looks like, because I can tell you, it's not the world the 45 and his cronies are interested in creating.
When I vote on Tuesday, I'll be thinking about all of these things. I'll also be thinking about:
- Maurice Stallard
- Vickie Lee Jones
- Daniel Stein
- Joyce Feinberg
- Richard Gottfried
- Rose Mallinger
- Jerry Rabinowitz
- Cecil Rosenthal
- David Rosenthal
- Bernice Simon
- Sylvan Simon
- Melvin Wax
- Irving Younger
- Nancy Van Vessem
- Maura Binkley
- Danye Jones
They, like too many before them, didn't have to die. They were what democracy looks like - people living their lives, practicing their faith, and fighting on behalf of others. I want to live in a world where we can truly do these things, and not in one where we live in fear no matter where we go. I vote because they can't. I vote for candidates who don't support the rhetoric of hate.
No comments:
Post a Comment