What is in a vote?
By Liz Allen
Asheville, North Carolina, Nov. 3 (AGR) — The great US
political machine has once again climaxed. The winner is the rich white
man in a suit! The electoral college picked him over his colleague —
the rich white man in a suit! A truly historic moment indeed.
The media is reporting that Bush got the popular vote. The numbers are
deserving of little faith. They are based on machines that have been
proven vulnerable to hackers, amidst reports of wrongly purged voter
registrations, and do not include the thousands who live under US law
but are not even eligible to vote because of citizenship status or a
criminal record.
The differences in the consequences of what comes now that Bush is still
called commander-in-chief are superficial. John Kerry and George Bush
are members of the Yale-based secret society Skull and Bones. Members
are focused on worldly success. Kerry and Bush, brothers in Skull and
Bones, are sitting side by side at the top of the mound of loot acquired
through imperialist endeavors. Neither of them is really concerned with
much other than the acquisition of wealth. Differences in how they may
appoint people to the Supreme Court, vote on environmental issues, etc.
are subject to change at any time according to either their interests
or the interests of whoever may be in power.
Politicians argue over semantics — multilateral versus unilateral
war on Iraq; keep on chasing Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan or focusing
on bombing Iraq; how to wage war to get rich without saying it is to
get rich. “We’re not senselessly desecrating people’s
lives. No, no, no — we’re looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction.”
“We’re installing democracy.” “We’re making
the world free from terrorism.” “We’re helping people
and proving that the United States of America is the best country on
Earth,” say representatives throughout the government. In cases
like their mutual support for the wall Israel is building to further
segregate Palestinians, Bush and Kerry do not even bother with differing
platforms.
War itself never comes into question. Ideas of reaching resolutions
without perpetuating pain and suffering are not considered viable. What
is overlooked is the humanity of those who are not in offices but rather
in prisons, bombed-out cities, on constant alert of sniper fire, mourning
the loss of loved ones, suffering from warfare-induced health problems.
They are treated as targets by a propaganda campaign based on assimilation,
consumption and fear. Instead of worrying about the well-being of their
relationships and surroundings, the attention of capitalists is focused
on commandeering the resources of others. Those at the top of the US
economic and political hierarchy have no special ability to make decisions
for other people more competently than a person is capable of making
for oneself. Given the fact that a person knows her own circumstances
most intimately, it makes sense that energy would most meaningfully
be spent on improving one’s own life rather than telling everyone
else how to live. Treating each other with respect, communicating and
sharing encourages an environment that makes everyone’s world more
just and pleasant does not require a president, an army, or a paper
trial.
For people like Bush, Kerry, their cohorts and followers, respecting
different opinions, lifestyles, solutions, and ideologies is an impossibility
because they are money, power and control addicts who know that in order
for their precious capitalism to succeed, insecurity and scarcity must
exist. Perhaps in their own lives they feel deprived of genuine, loving
interactions and have the economic and political position to take it
out on the rest of the world.
Imperialism is not over. War is not over. Racism is not over. Sexism
is not over. Hate, prejudice and oppression are not over. The US government
was founded on those principles of oppression and we are all victims
of them. Voting will not end these problems. Participating in the electoral
system, the amount of time spent worrying about the lesser of two evils,
convincing oneself and others that a “representative” is in
our own best interests, legitimizes the system. The fact that so many
voted plays into an illusion of credibility for whoever is in office.
If there is truth statements about wanting to live in a world where
diversity and life are valued, then why do so many “progressives”
put so much energy into a system that is set up to thrive on subordination
and control?
Maybe it is because people are afraid to think about what actually taking
control and being responsible for their own lives entails. Telling people
how to vote is easier. Just laughing about how stupid the president
is or putting up bumper stickers saying “Re-defeat Bush” and
“Don’t blame me I voted with the majority” is easier
than thinking of a way to oust a dictator with a more creative means
than ballot boxes provided by the same mechanisms that support him.
Stick with the humor, it makes coping easier. Ha, ha — they’re
destroying our lives so they can go out and destroy the lives of others!
Gulf War syndrome, children on Prozac committing suicide, families sleeping
on the streets, surveillance, prisons, bombs, military checkpoints —
ha, ha, HA! Vote! Vote! Vote!
Of course laughter helps keep away the pain of reality, but wouldn’t
it be nicer to have a different reality where jokes can be funny, not
just because we are trying to cope with misfortune? So Bush has “won”
again. So much fret and concern has been focused on getting anybody
but Bush into office and justifying why what may feel like a small degree
of improvement is necessary and important. If that energy was put into
working on tangible solutions — clearing one’s own life of
injustice, figuring out what it means to love and respect others —
we would be closer to living more fulfilling lives and not having a
position of domination for Bush, Kerry or anyone to be in.
In the past the slogan, “If you didn’t vote, you can’t
complain” was used to chastise non-participants unsatisfied with
a system that infiltrates nearly every aspect of life. Now that evidence
of a rigged system has become impossible to ignore, that statement is
not thrown around so freely. Not that it holds any credibility in the
first place. Acceptance of representative government is taken as such
a given that non-voters are seen as ignorant and apathetic rather than
dissatisfied and not willing to continue to accept domination.
Prior to the election, party supports roamed the streets like cult members
looking for more to feed this endlessly hungry beast known as the US
government. A lot of poor people don’t vote. Many I’ve talked
to say they don’t vote because it doesn’t matter who’s
in office, politicians don’t know what is going on outside of their
fancy homes and cars and are only after money. Those statements are
not ignorant, but based on reality. No need for pouting because Bush
is still the president. It’s still time to figure out some real
solutions and enjoy life without complying with injustice.
