Why Your Vote Matters Today– Even More Than in 2016
The easy answer is, if it didn’t matter, there wouldn’t be so many people trying to keep you from using it! The concerted attacks on our access to voting, by the Republican Party, as well as on our faith in the value of our vote, by a wide range of bad actors sowing discord, are reason enough for me to not only vote, but to do everything I can to help and encourage others to vote. And I urge them to vote, against but not just against this administration, that has not only let people die for political advantage, but has decimated our hard-built, hard-won agencies of civilization. Everything from cancelling worker safety protections to firing or hamstringing the experts who keep our nuclear facilities and waste from poisoning us– I could go on. From the first weeks of the Trump administration there has been a steady undermining of all public services and a steady diversion of wealth and assets into the hands of a small class of his cronies, even as they undermine trust in and hamper the exercise of a free press.
Allowing this administration to retain control of our government, and our economy by extension, means that we accept the complete dehumanization of our immigrant population, and even our foreign-born citizens (they have even created a review board to strip naturalized citizens of their American nationality). It means we accept the militarized forces of ICE and CBP, allied with right-wing police forces and the so-called “militias”. It means we hand over our country to the worst among us- and we abandon all hope of stopping the ravages of climate change.
Beyond the prevention vote, though, I urge people to vote FOR a Democratic Party, for our presidential candidates (who were far from my choice, but are in my opinion quite capable of rising to meet the needs that will assail them on every side). Even more crucial, I urge them to vote for a slate of very decent people, here in our backyard at least. These candidates are putting themselves forward in these very difficult times, because they are ready to take on the job of repair, of transition, and of healing the rifts, hard as it will be. Voting for a good judge, a good justice of the state supreme court, and a good county commissioner are all just as important.
But what about the electoral college? Doesn’t it make a mockery of our vote, when a candidate can win by 3 million votes, and yet still lose due to a handful of votes in just a few states?
It’s a problem, and a big one. It’s not so much the Electoral College itself, but the rule of winner-take-all that makes it so destructive. Because a small win in a few states that are not overwhelmingly Red or Blue will give ALL the votes of that state to the winner, and because the Republican Party, knowing that it does not represent the majority of today’s citizens, will stop at nothing to undercut the representation of black and brown and blue voters, only an overwhelming popular vote will ensure a Democratic victory- and it’s crucial that Dem voters in states like Michigan push past the discouragement and add their voice. There are a lot of Michigan voters, in many areas, who have bought the Fox News line and really believe that none of what we see about Trump is true. They are going to be voting, and if those of us who know how bad it is don’t add our voices, we will be in for destruction like we can’t even imagine.
I was a disillusioned non-voter for quite a long time. I felt there was no point participating when time after time the system favored candidates I deeply disagreed with. I’d call myself a natural Democrat–that is, I feel that the state should be the means of reducing oppression and exploitation, and of ensuring fairness among equal citizens; or, alternatively, I support a society where all citizens are valued and where the law favors fairness in individuals’ compensation, support and access to the common good. But I did not see candidates proposed who really reflected those values, or proposed action that would help to make them foundational. So, for years, I did not vote. (This was made easier by the fact that I lived outside the country, first in Mexico and then in France.)
As time went by, I became more aware of history and of the forces acting to keep humanity in thrall to entrenched interests, both financial and political. I saw what a strong push there is to deny citizen status to large classes of people, making them vulnerable to exploitation, afraid to stand up to demand decent wages and conditions. I was shocked to see how, under the barrage of right wing “economists” promoting such theories as “trickle-down” and “choice economics”, even middle-class workers found themselves without basic rights such as sick leave or pensions, and I began to read. Such books as Democracy in Chains, by Nancy Maclean, and Jane Meyers’ Dark Money, lay out the effort by right wing plutocrats to divert the academic and governmental resources to their service. And then Michael Lewis’ the Fifth Risk, showing how the amazing federal agencies we had built up, offering protections and life-enhancing services essential to navigating modern life, such as the weather services, the programs that support development of energy conservation– too many things to enumerate- have all been slashed and burned. Anything that benefitted the public at large has been diverted to give power and money to the top, to the “circle” Trump wishes to be part of.
It’s easy to look at our electoral system, and the history we all have lived, and conclude that it is so rigged against the election of anyone who will really stand up for the ordinary person and for the values of human dignity, that there is no point participating. I felt that way for years. And in fact, it is indeed rigged, though not in the way that the Republican bloc is claiming. But at this point in history, your vote counts more than ever, as democracy itself (imperfect as it is) is very clearly under assault by people who would be perfectly happy to see the rise of an all-powerful state that backs big money interests, where war is a money-making proposition and property, not people is protected by the full force of the law, while large groups of working people are excluded from any legal protection.
Please vote. And then keep after the people you elect. They’ll need help, and pressure, to be able to go forward. Because the opposing forces will still be there. Hopefully, though, reduced to a manageable proportion!
