Election day is less than one month away, and the campaign is ugly. The important thing is to remember to look past the rhetoric and lies. Find the truth as it exists. Weigh the facts: not the alternative ones, the real ones. Do your own research off social media to know what is really happening. And, please, if you disagree with me or anyone else, agree to disagree – do not bully, spew hatred, lecture or threaten. This is a safe place and I will not tolerate such behavior. Lastly, know that mail-in voting is safe! And you cannot vote both mail-in and in-person – that’s illegal. And if you are confused about how to vote in your state, Stephen Colbert has launched a website to help: Better Know A Ballot
On a recent episode of Fareed Zakaria GPS, he had experts from around the world discussing the world’s woeful view of the US. Our generation is unfortunately witnessing the decline of America firsthand. With people so polarized and unwilling to talk out their differences to a peaceful conclusion, I am growing more and more pessimistic about our future. This saddens me deeply. I want to go back to when people could agree to disagree and listen to/learn from each other. A person cannot even write a post on social media without being attacked for having an opinion if it is not the “right” opinion. Tragic….
In my brother’s Shakespeare group, we recently completed reading Macbeth. One of my favorite quotes from the Scottish play is, “Out, out, brief candle, Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Words that stand the test of time and are sadly reflective of what is going on in our nation. As one of my friends who is also in the group stated, “Shakespeare is showing us his brilliance and mastery of poetry and human experience.” He continued to point out that all ten lines of this soliloquy unfold dark images of a life that is controlled by self-serving power-hungry ego, and the toll of that on humanity. One might say this is exactly what is being enacted on today’s government and election stages. And by not speaking out against the violence, divisiveness, racism, etc., too many people are acquiescing to and inadvertently supporting this darkness.
Our democracy is on the line. This election is not about voting for the lesser of two evils or just voting for President. This election is about what type of America in which you want to live. If you want, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America,” then you know what to do when you complete your ballot. I will not tell you who to vote for because that is not the right thing for me to do. I will tell you that you MUST vote – vote for President, Senate, Congress, and all the other elected official positions on your ballot! Not voting is giving the election away to the incumbents and sacrificing our democracy for which so many have fought and died.
On November 3, I want to know I took positive action to create much needed change in our country. I hope you feel similarly. Together, let us preserve American democracy.
Lastly, RIP RBG
Thank you for being an icon for the feminist movement and a champion of equal rights and justice for all.
May your memory be for a revolution (and a blessing).
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