Election Day
Vote For…
It felt almost appropriate that it was pouring rain this past Thursday when my partner and I cast our ballots at Boston City Hall. We had already mentally prepared ourselves for the likelihood of obscenely-long wait times, as has been the case for countless Americans nationwide dealing with the ridiculousness of voter suppression at the hands of all branches of government. Please make no mistake; they are each as culpable as the next. Even in my home state of Texas, the constant oscillation between electoral victories & unthinkable defeats in the courts has been maddening. Top courts are forbidding individual districts from counting absentee ballots if they arrive past a particular time on Election Day. All of this makes me want to run up to Republican leaders like Tortuga McConnell and say: “Que te cuesta?! This is NOT what democracy is, nor is it the country we should strive to be.”
But I say that the rain was appropriate last week while voting because it almost felt like a universal cleansing of the filth we’ve had to deal with under the past four years of a Trump administration. I’ll speak for myself (especially as someone who fell ill with COVID-19 at a time when Trump knew of its deadly effects) in saying that it has been absolutely miserable trying to live under this authoritarian government. And why? Because our country was unable to see past its misogynistic views of a powerful (and unbelievably qualified) woman.
Since 2017, this White House has callously separated immigrant children from their parents; banned Muslims from entering the country; forbade trans folks from serving in the military; propagated misinformation about the coronavirus and fake scandals designed to ruin their opponents; denigrated the Black Lives Matter movement while simultaneously praising white supremacists, and filled the court systems with ultra-conservative judges unafraid of stripping women of their reproductive rights. And I haven’t even TOUCHED the fact that Trump was impeached for abusing his presidential powers, paid absolutely ZERO taxes for several years, and owes hundreds of millions of dollars to unnamed entities. Rumor has it that Russia may be among those seeking payment, perhaps as a ‘thank you’ for stealing the last election in Trump’s favor. And intelligence officers now say that Russia and Iran are at it again – working overtime to undermine our democratic process.
This country is heading to the point of irreparable harm, and that’s not even because of climate change. We absolutely will not survive another Trump term, which is why I’m strongly asking that each of you exercise your right to vote this coming Tuesday. But, I’m sure a good portion of you may have already mailed in your ballots or voted early, like myself.
I can honestly say that I was incredibly excited to cast my vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Biden, who I will always thank for endorsing marriage equality ahead of Obama, will usher in policies and regulations (many of which will come close to or even surpass my progressive standards) and restore the American political system to what it once was.
Both of these candidates care about the American people and are determined to lead us with strength and resolve. They’ll also surround themselves with the best people. Really! Because we’re those people – I genuinely believe that.
Please make your voices heard. It MATTERS.
