I’m sorry, Bernie, I just can’t do it

Hillary is not worthy of my vote

Mr. Sanders, I admired you long before you were ever mentioned as a Presidential hopeful. Your life has been a profound example of what fighting for change looks like, and I am so proud of the work you’ve done and the sacrifices you’ve made for our forward progress.

When you announced your bid for the Presidency I was ecstatic. I supported you, I stood up for you, I spoke out for you, I marched in the streets for you and I had many heated discussions on your behalf.

Because, like you, I believe that the world is aching for change. And, like you, I believe that the first step toward meaningful change is unity.

If more people could see the problems we face through eyes like yours, solutions would be within our grasp and we would be heading toward the bright future that we long for.

You know, better than the rest of us, that politicians are slaves to the companies that own them. One of the reasons you have won the respect and loyalty of so many people is that you aren’t that guy.

You are proof positive that empathy and compassion can live in the heart of an elected representative. You have maintained a level of integrity that is extremely rare in the political arenas of any Country.

Because of these things, I will always share your dreams and be an advocate of your goals.

But I just cannot cast my vote for Hillary Clinton. That is the one thing that you have encouraged that I just cannot do. And I am so sorry. I tried. I really did. I struggled, long and hard, to find the truth in a vote cast on lies.

I worked hard to see her perspective, to overlook her questionable character traits and to ignore the propaganda against her. I even tried to disregard her part in tainting the fidelity of the DNC.

And up until recently I thought, for the sake of keeping a very bad man out of office, I could do it.

I understand that electing her as President of our Country is a sound business decision. I understand that her Republican opponent is a filthy and dangerous person and we need to keep him away from any position of power. I get it.

The thing I can’t wrap my brain around though, is that the United States is not, and should not be, a corporate entity. Indeed, corporate influence and dirty business tactics is precisely why we face most of the problems that we do today.

And I just can’t.

I don’t know if you could hear it or feel it, but when you came along and presented yourself as a potential Presidential candidate, there was a collective sigh of relief that moved through hearts across the land. Finally someone that means what they say. Someone with no hidden agendas and no dirty backroom deals. And after having experienced such a beautiful thing, I just can’t accept much less from someone who wants my vote.

When you conceded to her, I waited to hear a real answer from you as to why. That desire was never satisfied. I respected your decisions though and figured you had your reasons.

I can’t even imagine what you and your family had to go through during the primary elections. And then the very corruption that you were speaking out against seemed to come right up and bite you in the heels. It was a travesty and I understand that you needed to curl up into the arms of your family for a repose. I understand.

So I waited for Hillary Clinton to convince me why I should give her my one little vote that I had reserved for you. She never even tried.

She just stepped up to the podium with a sense of entitlement rather than a sense of gratitude. And I can’t forgive her for that. She insulted us Berners by refusing to acknowledge that her only way in the door she was knocking on was by stealing the votes meant for you.

And trust me, as a free-thinking, independent woman who is indebted to the sacrifices of the suffrage movement, I really wish she could have proven worthy of my vote. I mean, I can still sing every word of Sister Suffragette from Mary Poppins — and I would love to “Cast off the shackles of yesterday” and go “shoulder to shoulder into the fray” with my great big fat proud vote for a woman.

I love the idea of a Madam President, symbolically and otherwise. And yes, I even agree with her on several issues. But that is not enough.

I do not care about her emails or how she handled the hardships in her marriage. I do not hold her solely responsible for the tragedy in Benghazi.

But I do hold her accountable for the money she has stuffed in her pocket. Her debts to warmongers, corporate interests and polluters should not be my debts. A vote for that woman would be an agreement to the debt she owes her puppet masters.

And that’s the thing. The good she’s done through her Foundation and her views on women’s rights and her agreement to come to your way of thinking on making education more attainable… all these things are wonderful, but they have a dark shadow over them and it is cast by the corporate interests that own her political favors.

A great example of this, and the straw that broke that camel’s back for me, was her failure to recognize the fight to protect water supplies at Standing Rock. This sealed the deal for me, and was a great reminder that her loyalties lie with the oil and gas industry over the health of people, over the health of the one living world that we all share.

A vote for her would be a vote against the integrity of our environment, and as far as I’m concerned, there is no greater threat to humanity than that of an unhealthy Earth. We cannot drink dollar bills from a politician’s pocket. I know that you know this.

I also believe that she will win this election. And I agree that she is a much better choice than her arrogant and ignorant opponent. I will be glad to see that disgraceful man slither away back into his golden cave, and I am convinced that Hillary will receive the votes she needs to make that happen.

For the record, I couldn’t be forced to vote for Donald Trump and his moral turpitude even if there were an unregistered assault rifle held to my head. But luckily there are other options.

Even though those options have been sabotaged by the media and the dirty political machine, I still must vote with my principles in mind. It is a matter of integrity. I cannot reward bad behavior and I do not want to go down in history as having voted for someone out of fear.

Indeed, if we are only voting out of fear, then we are perpetuating the illusion of freedom. We are eating from the hands of the pastors and masters that would have us homogenized into mindless tax cattle.

And by God, Bernie, I stand for something. For many things. For social change, for healthcare, for education, for peace, for prosperity and equality, for racial justice and clean water and fresh air and a safe food supply. I stand for something better than the scraps we’ve been given and my vote has to reflect that.

You were my first choice, and that option was robbed from me — by the very machine that is fueling Hillary’s campaign.

Jill Stein was my second choice so I will give her the vote that was meant for you. I believe the Green Party is the only option left that mirrors my own convictions. And I believe that, in the future, a party like this will be the only answer to the ever-rising tides of disaster that lurk at our shores.

I know you said now is not the time for a protest vote. So please know that I am not doing this in protest, I am doing this to help third parties become a viable alternative for the future.

If people do not make their voices heard, nothing will ever change. Stepping around the damage is not the same as repairing it.

Please forgive me, Bernie. I hope you understand why I can’t bring myself to go down in history with my mark next to her name.

I will vote “blue” every other place I can down the ticket, however, for President I will cast my vote proudly for a “green” woman — in honor of the women who raised me, the suffrage movement of old, and every person who deserves their elected officials to be a human being free from the ownership of corporate America.

I will hum “Votes for Women!” as I click the button of the person I find most ethically competent to govern over 300 million souls who deserve a healthy planet to thrive on.

My vote for Jill Stein, against your advice, will also be cast in your honor. As you have been a true inspiration for doing what is right, even if it is the unpopular thing to do.

I hope, sincerely, that you will understand.