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Zoe Johnson, 20, votes in Columbus, Ohio, on November 8, 2022.
Voting is a fundamental right and responsibility in a free society—without the right to vote, and without exercising that right, we’re all a little less free.
Two different things can be true at the same time: The lesser of two evils is still evil; the lesser of two evils is lesser. More than one thing is happening at once. Contradiction—the universal experience of all humanity.
Think about the coming election: There are many, many reasons not to vote. Perhaps you’re disconnected from politics and turned off by all the phoniness and mindless bickering; perhaps you recognize that the options are almost indistinguishable on the big issues—a choice between Teweedledum and Tweedledummer—and you agree with Karl Marx that bourgeois democracy offers nothing more than a ritual to decide, in effect, which member of the ruling class will misrepresent us; perhaps you see the ways that voting is corrupted by big money and manipulated by power, and you note that the political class represents a monied minority and that the electoral college makes voting irrelevant; or perhaps you’re organizing and acting toward more substantive change, and you embrace Rosa Luxemburg’s insight that if we could bring about a revolution through elections, voting would be illegal.
I get all that.
You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you
Still, I’ll go out and vote on election day, as I always have. And I always will. Here’s why:
So, here we are—in a place not of our choosing. And no matter what you do, and no matter what I do, there will be a national election in November. Among other things, a president will be elected. I don’t actually think democracy is on the agenda as the Democrats say—and I wish it were—but a unique American fascism is surely on the agenda.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Two different things can be true at the same time: The lesser of two evils is still evil; the lesser of two evils is lesser. More than one thing is happening at once. Contradiction—the universal experience of all humanity.
Think about the coming election: There are many, many reasons not to vote. Perhaps you’re disconnected from politics and turned off by all the phoniness and mindless bickering; perhaps you recognize that the options are almost indistinguishable on the big issues—a choice between Teweedledum and Tweedledummer—and you agree with Karl Marx that bourgeois democracy offers nothing more than a ritual to decide, in effect, which member of the ruling class will misrepresent us; perhaps you see the ways that voting is corrupted by big money and manipulated by power, and you note that the political class represents a monied minority and that the electoral college makes voting irrelevant; or perhaps you’re organizing and acting toward more substantive change, and you embrace Rosa Luxemburg’s insight that if we could bring about a revolution through elections, voting would be illegal.
I get all that.
You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you
Still, I’ll go out and vote on election day, as I always have. And I always will. Here’s why:
So, here we are—in a place not of our choosing. And no matter what you do, and no matter what I do, there will be a national election in November. Among other things, a president will be elected. I don’t actually think democracy is on the agenda as the Democrats say—and I wish it were—but a unique American fascism is surely on the agenda.
Two different things can be true at the same time: The lesser of two evils is still evil; the lesser of two evils is lesser. More than one thing is happening at once. Contradiction—the universal experience of all humanity.
Think about the coming election: There are many, many reasons not to vote. Perhaps you’re disconnected from politics and turned off by all the phoniness and mindless bickering; perhaps you recognize that the options are almost indistinguishable on the big issues—a choice between Teweedledum and Tweedledummer—and you agree with Karl Marx that bourgeois democracy offers nothing more than a ritual to decide, in effect, which member of the ruling class will misrepresent us; perhaps you see the ways that voting is corrupted by big money and manipulated by power, and you note that the political class represents a monied minority and that the electoral college makes voting irrelevant; or perhaps you’re organizing and acting toward more substantive change, and you embrace Rosa Luxemburg’s insight that if we could bring about a revolution through elections, voting would be illegal.
I get all that.
You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you
Still, I’ll go out and vote on election day, as I always have. And I always will. Here’s why:
So, here we are—in a place not of our choosing. And no matter what you do, and no matter what I do, there will be a national election in November. Among other things, a president will be elected. I don’t actually think democracy is on the agenda as the Democrats say—and I wish it were—but a unique American fascism is surely on the agenda.