Thank you for this. As some others have said, this is the first thing that has even come close to convincing me at all. I am still not completely convinced, but that’s a) because I am stubborn b) because I am idealistic and c) because it’s only June, and while, as you point out, the election is only 150 days away, it’s still 150 days away.
I realize you could easily rebut/smash all those points. I hope though that you can respect that you’re farther along than I am. I respect very much that you’re farther along than I am. Also, I’m not out there being Bernie or Bust, so I think my being slow isn’t hurting anything for now. I’ve having trouble settling for voting for a woman whose approach to truth and integrity and war I detest (just as I would for a similar male lesser evil), but the minute I think my lugubriousness in is hurting the country, I’ll speed the hell up.
As with everything else about this election, the whole thing is beyond complicated, and one thing I resent very much (along with a lot of other things) is that Hillary bullies — and, as you know, there are SO MANY — are loving using Trump as a tool for new levels of sanctimonious, condescending browbeating in the name of patriotism and moral superiority (see: “feminism”). I see that mechanism and its intellectual dishonesty and want to resist it. But, at the same time, Donald Trump. I know.
For now, I am just letting Bernie be my guide. I’ll do all I can to defeat Trump. I’ll do all I can to transform the Democratic party. I haven’t endorsed Hillary yet. I’m sure she’s just waiting with bated breath for little old me, but she will have to wait a while longer. As for the bulk of my energy, I am figuring out where to use it next, but I am pretty sure it will be in the area of election reform, since this year’s Democratic primaries were a stain on the idea of democracy itself. (Edit: also campaign finance reform. Because as a good marxist, I do think that money, as the main locus and vehicle of power, is the main problem.)
As an aside, I’m also still working out my response to the Nader argument. I’m not voting third party this year, not at long as my other choice is Trump. But I still think blaming Nader for Bush 43 is misguided; the blame goes to Gore, the Democratic Party, and an entire nation of voters, not to mention Florida’s Division of Elections. I do believe, whenever possible, in voting for someone, not against someone. I also see that in 2016 we might not have that luxury. But I don’t blame people who did it in the past, without the benefit of a crystal ball. Like everything else, it’s not black and white, and I understand and support the principle of short-term pain for long-term gain, which some of those Nader voters must have been banking on, in good faith.
Thank you for making me think, thank you for letting me think out loud here, thank you for your writing and thank you for being for Bernie. I wish we had nabbed you for Writers for Bernie back when it mattered more. Solidarity.
