Smile, and defeat this man.
I need to speak to the many people I know who are planning to vote for Jill Stein during this election. I know you all have heard the usual arguments. A vote for Jill is a vote for Trump. This election is not the time for a protest vote. All good points, but when I repeat them my Jill Stein friends tend to say: "Yes, yes, I've heard all those arguments. I'm still not convinced, I'm sorry."
My Jill Stein friends will then go on to say "Hillary Clinton is a war monger. I can't give my vote to her. Look at what's happening in Yemen and Libya and everything else in the Middle East. That's partly her fault because of her voting record as a senator."
And I say, "Also look at the mass devastation in South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Eastern Europe." My friends say "Yeah.... uh, yeah. Wait, what's going on in South Korea?" And I say "Oh, nothing yet. But believe me there WILL be mass devestation in Korea and Europe if Trump wins because progressives voted for Stein. Trump will not respect the NATO alliance and the pledge to protect South Korea and Japan. Hillary will. American military might is the only thread holding nuclear-armed strongmen at bay. Only by fearing Hillary and the army she will command will Putin and Kim Jeong-Un be kept at bay. With Trump in the White House turning his back on our allies, we will see horrors of Syria being repeated in Asia and Eastern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of people who are now happily living their lives will be dead, or dying, or fleeing in panic. World markets will tank and the infrastructure of stable countries will be strained to the point of breaking in accommodating refugees. The current Syrian refugee crises will be multiplied by a thousand across the globe as Putin and Kim Jeong-Un- unconstrained by the fear of American reprisal- move across the globe. Only an election putting Hillary Clinton in the White House can stop this."
"I'm sorry, I can't vote for Hillary. She doesn't represent my values."
"Okay, fine. Let's try a different tactic. Have you seen all that news footage of doctors and nurses and paramedics in Aleppo trying- with very limited resources- to treat the wounded and dying civilian (including many children) that flow into hospitals daily from bomb strikes? Have you seen the photo in the New York Times of Syrian first responders risking death while digging a tiny foot out of a pile of rubble from the recent bomb strike? Have you seen the newspaper reporters and politicians in Russia who have been threatened, wounded, incarcerated, and killed for going against the Kremlin's views? Have you looked at old news footage of Allied forces, young men and boys, losing their lives during World War 2 in their fight against fascism?
“What if you were able to tell those first responders in Syria, those reporters in Russia, and those soldiers in World War 2 'Hey! You don't have to suffer and die and starve while trying futilely to help others who are suffering dying in order to fight fascism! It's much easier than that! All you have to do is stay safe and well-fed and stable and just visit a polling place on November 8th and fill in a bubble that says 'Clinton/Kaine.'
"Do you really think a first responder who has to risk bombings and starvation and death every day in Syria while watching children die in front of her in some shell of a hospital would balk at filling in a bubble that says 'Clinton/Kaine?' Or would she rejoice that a small, almost negligiable effort on her part could prevent decades of future violence? 'Yes, I would do anything to prevent the deaths of civilians. I would dodge bombs. I would live on rations of raisins for weeks. I would try my best to do surgery and stop bleeds with barely any morphine to help make the patient comfortable. But Clinton? I dunno, she doesn't really represent my values.' No, that first resonder would never say that. Instead she would say: 'YES! YES! Anything to prevent this horror from spreading to other countries!"
"Yes, well, Hillary doesn't represent my values."
"Fine. Fine then. Deliberately throw your vote away on a nonsense candidate and aid a truly dangerous strongman. But you know what? The next time you feel compelled to Facebook about the bravery of this Syrian doctor or that Yemenese midwife or those group of activists in Russia.... stop. Just stop.
“As a paramedic who is spending all my waking days either caring for patients, caring for my son, or helping Hillary so that I can keep my country safe... just stop. Stop praising the first responders who are fighting fascism across the globe.
“Because you do not deserve to praise us.
“You have lost the privilege of praising us.
“Do not praise us. Because we deserve better than your Jill Stein voter hypocrisy. We deserve better than your praise. Your praise is spitting in our eye. Do not praise our efforts while being unwilling to expend even the minimal effort yourselves to vote for Hillary Clinton. We first responders are running ourselves ragged to keep America safe while you cannot even take fifteen minutes out of your day to bubble in "Clinton/Kaine." I am running myself ragged. My friends are running themselves ragged. Hillary Clinton is running herself ragged to protect this country. Do you think she is not aware of the looming danger? Clinton knows exactly what happens to powerful political opponents when men like Putin or Trump ascend to power. Political opponents disappear. Their families disappear. Clinton was calm, composed, even cheerful at the debate last night with Trump but I guarantee you that her daughter and grandchildren were in the back of her mind the entire time. Smile and defeat this man because your grandchildren's lives may literally depend on this debate. Smile and defeat this man. Smile. Smile for your children.
“And she smiled. And defeated Trump. For that night at least, Clinton defeated Trump.
“That's why all good people should have her back. That's why no matter what happens now or in the future... go to the polls on November 8th and vote "Clinton/Kaine." Not Stein. Not Johnson. Not Trump. Not write-in Bernie Sanders. Not "Fuck it, I'm going to stay home." No, you must vote for "Clinton/Kaine."
“For those who shed blood today, yesterday, tommorrow, seventy years ago or a hundred years in the future fighting fascism... respect their efforts. And vote for Hillary.”
