I hope the New York Times will forgive me for posting a part of Saturday’s editorial. It is too long to put the whole thing here but it is good.
“It’s also true that when more people vote, the electorate becomes more liberal. If Americans voted in proportion to their actual numbers, a majority would most likely support a vision for the country far different from that of Mr. Trump and the Republicans in Congress. This includes broader access to health care, higher taxes on the wealthy, more aggressive action against climate change and more racial equality in the criminal justice system.
Republicans are aware of this, which is why the party has gone to such lengths to drive down turnout among Democratic-leaning groups. A recent example: In North Dakota, the Republican-led Legislature changed the law to make it harder for Native Americans to cast a ballot.
It comes down to this: Democracy isn’t self-activating. It depends on citizens getting involved and making themselves heard. So if you haven’t yet cast a ballot, get out and do it on Tuesday, or earlier if your state allows early voting. Help your family, friends and neighbors do the same. Help a stranger. Vote as if the future of the country depends on it. Because it does.” NYTimes Editorial, Nov. 3, 2018
I have had quite an education in the last two months. Thanks to my sister, Margaret Somers, University of Michigan; Nancy MacLean Duke University and Malcom Nance a retired Intelligence Officer, my eyes have been opened to what I’m sure many others have seen but I hadn’t. The rise of market fundamentalism and, perhaps, the end of Democracy as we know it. Or as Malcolm Nance said when I heard him speak at the American Library “It’s possible that Tuesday will be the end of the American Experiment”
This isn’t a political blog but tomorrow everyone in the United States has the right to vote. Many who want to vote are being prevented from doing so. Many who can vote don’t. Because they are lazy? I’m old enough that I remember being taught about women dying working to get the right to vote. We were taught that voting is a privilege and not to ever abuse it. People who don’t vote are actually voting. The NYTimes says that the more people that vote, the electorate becomes more liberal. So not voting is a vote for conservative.
We live in a crazy, crazy world. France fought off Marine Le Pen. I heard she was one of the first, along with Donald Trump to congratulate the new President of Brazil. The papers were asking how could someone like him win when he was so vilified a decade ago? I think there is an answer. It means reading and educating ourselves about the Far Right, Extremism and Russia. It means having to stretch our brain cells to comprehend things that, to me, seem unimaginable.
So go vote tomorrow. Then read and read some more. Don’t get distracted by tweets and stories that rise up and flame away.
A Bientôt,
Sara
Out My Window 