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On
the eve of the Democratic Convention convenes, I trust that
it will be very
different from what I saw of the Republican convention, a dark
circus of
buffoons and clowns not in the least amusing, leaving one
gravely doubtful of
their intelligence and sanity but not at all of their lack of
compassion and
decency. It was a fest of bigotry, racism, misogyny, homophobia,
chauvinism,
bellicosity, arrogance, fear, hate, and lies. Not a pretty sight
or sound. I
forget how long it has been since it was respectable to be
Republican.
But,
to be truthful, for a politician to call himself or herself a
Democrat is no
indication of sound values either, so far right has the
Democratic party
drifted corroded by neo-liberalism, its policies often little
different from
those of the neo-cons. For that reason we should expect, nay,
demand that the
Democratic convention be contentious though certainly with more
civility and
dignity than what we saw in Cleveland, but contentious still;
there must be debate.
Sen.
Bernie Sanders has called for us to stand behind Sec. Hillary
Clinton and so we
must. We must stand behind her to back her against the
Trump/Pense menace but
also to push her to leave off or significantly modify her
neo-liberal policies.
Her
choice
for Vice-Presidential running mate “centrist” (read neo-liberal)
Sen. Tim
Kaine, who favors Wall Street and supported the TPP and such
“Free Trade”
treaties, is not encouraging. (Though she could have done worse
with Agriculture
Sec. Tom Vilsack on her short-list, an advocate for Monsanto who
also supported
the TPP, reflecting her neo-liberal values.) But we must nevertheless elect her to thwart an outright, brass-knuckled, oppressive fascist regime under Don Trump.
Of
this let us be very clear: we must elect her overwhelmingly, not
as a mandate
to neo-liberal policies, but as an unequivocal rejection of the
Trump/Pence
threat and to buy us time and space in which to carry on our grassroots revolution we began with Bernie Sanders’ campaign. In campaigning for her
election, let us
be clear that we are campaigning for the issues that we demand
she promote whether they appear on the party platform or not:
Vote
for Hillary Clinton & Stop the TPP
Vote
for Hillary Clinton
& a 15$ an Hour Minimum Wage
& a 15$ an Hour Minimum Wage
Vote
for Hillary Clinton & Just Immigration Reform
Vote
for Hillary Clinton & Fight Climate Change
Vote
for Hillary Clinton
& Free Public Education Through College
& Free Public Education Through College
Vote
for Hillary Clinton & Ban Private Prisons
Vote
for Hillary Clinton & Expand Social Security
Vote
for Hillary Clinton & Universal Health Care
Vote
for Hillary Clinton
& Control the Banks & Wall Street
& Control the Banks & Wall Street
Let
us make no mistake; it will not be easy. Trump taps into a deep
and extensive
vein of misogyny in the U.S. psyche that will be leveled against
her, and of a
racism that made Pres. Barack Obama the target of more threats
than any other
president in U.S. history. This is why we cannot risk the
temptation to vote
for a third party candidate, a write-in, or not vote at all — to
do so might
soothe the conscience but might lose us the struggle. Many of
you disagree with
me, I know, but consider carefully before casting your vote.
It
will not be easy for we come to the struggle in grief and
justified rage that
what we most love is threatened and at stake. It is about great
human suffering
here and throughout the world. Black lives do matter; and Latino
lives, indigenous
lives, Moslem lives, women’s lives; the lives of our homosexual
and transgender
brothers/sisters matter; as do the lives of those who die for
lack of food,
shelter, health care; the lives of those who die in our
perpetual wars in the
interests of the 1% matter. The life of the Earth herself
matters. Our joy is
compromised and our anger is justified. Let it empower us to
take action but
not corrupt the action we take that must be firmly rooted in
love and
compassion.
It
will not be easy, but let us not be immobilized by fear or
loathing. Let us
wear all our pins, be steadfast in our love and compassion and
do what we must
do with as much joy as we can garner, with as much color and
song and dance as
we are able, for only light can conquer darkness. Let the gloom,
the sneer, the
twisted smirk on our opponents’ faces be their undoing. If we
make our
revolution a celebration of life, who in their right minds could
resist? Let us
keep in mind the things we love and struggle to defend — and
celebrate them.
I
will be glad to vote for a woman president; I only wish it were
a woman I could
support whole-heartedly and with full trust. But, hey, we are forced to what choices we have and must do the
best we can
with them. Let it be our very best. In our love is our power, in our joy is our strength,
in our hope our endurance, in our determination our victory.
Rafael
Jesús González
Berkeley,
California
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