Despite the Biden/Harris Problem

Despite the Biden/Harris Problem

Like many voters, I’m not a fan of Biden/Harris. We don’t need to discuss the many reasons why, but I understand the sentiment. It will literally hurt me to cast my vote for the Biden/Harris ticket, but I will.

Donald Trump’s ineptitude has revealed the many weaknesses and injustices of our republic. Our nation is in unmeasured chaos only surpassed by the Civil War or Depression.

The economic injustices, inequities and oppression of numerous communities has been revealed in the wake of COVID-19. As Congress complains that many citizen earn more on unemployment than their actual jobs, they don’t seem to understand the irony that many citizens earn more on unemployment than their jobs. They don’t care that many jobs don’t provide a living wage that allows citizens to live in dignity.

COVID-19 has also revealed the injustice of food deserts in many communities across our nation. In communities where fresh healthy food is not readily available, infection rates have been higher, yet the Trump administration has failed to inform the American citizens that a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables can help protect them by strengthening our immune system. Healthcare is also taking a hit as millions of citizens lose their healthcare as they also lose their jobs.

The War Production Act still has not been fully implemented. For those who don’t understand the power of the WPA, it has the power to instruct every business in the nation to begin production of any and everything necessary to ensure success. Yet, the majority of our PPE is still coming from China and India. We still don’t have enough ventilators. There is no national response or plan to combat COVID-19. No measures have been taken to ensure the safe education of our children. The overall response has been nothing less than chaotic and catastrophic.

Worldwide, we have lost the highest percentage of citizens, a little better than a third of worldwide population, while being less than 4.5% of the world population. Donald Trump publicly stated that our seniors should be willing to die to get the economy moving again. He also publicly stated children only get a little sick and only a couple die. He’s willing to sacrifice our most vulnerable citizens rather than do his job and protect them so businesses can continue to earn money, but has no plan to safely do so.

The uncoordinated response to COVID-19 has lead to the unnecessary loss of hundreds of small businesses that will never open again. Trillions of dollars have been given to corporations and the 1% that our children, grandchildren and great-grand children will have to pay back for decades, yet Congress and the Trump administration provided $1,200 they expected to last citizens ten weeks and at the end of that ten weeks, not only failed to have a plan to provide for citizens or prevent evictions, but also allowed Congress to go on vacation for a month at a time when citizens are in desperate need.

Not only has the Trump administration removed our nation from the Paris Accord, they have aggressively rolled back dozens of environmental and wildlife protections. He also increased oil drilling and fracking and encouraged the use of coal as he killed green technology.

The Trump Administration has severely damaged our relationships with allies, while miraculously finding a way to both agitate and embrace our enemies.

Xenophobia, racism, sexism, antisemitism and discrimination is on the rise at unheard of levels because of the examples set by Donald Trump. Social unrest, protests, rioting and looting are becoming the norms as police attack peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional rights to protest police abusing and killing citizens. Donald Trump has authorized unnamed government officials in unmarked vehicles to apprehend and detain American citizens.

Those seeking political asylum are being turned away at our border. Children are still being separated from their parents at the border and reports of child abuse, molestation and rape have been reported. A number of children, under the Trump administration have not only been taken from their parents, but also, put up for adoption, while many others have simply disappeared never to be seen again.

We literally have food lines that are miles long that run out of food before the last car is served. And the list of problems created and revealed by the Trump Administration’s ineptitude could go on for hours.

Voters are faced with six choices, Trump/Pence, Biden/Harris, write in Bernie Sanders, Green Party, Libertarian or do not vote.

While Bernie Sanders was not my original choice, his ideologies line up with mine very well. His beliefs would move the nation in a direction I believe to be beneficial to all citizens. Despite this fact, I cannot vote for Senator Sanders and believe his supporters should not either. No matter what, Senator Sanders cannot win, but voting for Senator Sanders can allow Donald Trump the edge he needs to win.

While the Green Party platform also line up very well with my ideologies for our nation and I believe they would be excellent for our nation, the Green Party cannot win. I cannot vote for the Green Party at this time and believe those who plan to, should not either. A vote for the Green Party will give Donald Trump the edge he needs to win.

While Libertarians are now more Republican than the actual Republican Party, republicans will still vote for Donald Trump and Donald Trump will win.

While two-thirds of eligible voters do not vote for varying reasons, and unfortunately, many who voted in 2016 are vowing to not vote out of protests against the DNC interference in the primaries, this action only benefits Donald Trump. Fewer voters gives Donald Trump an edge in the election and non-voters have committed to accepting whatever happens.

A vote for Biden/Harris is a viable vote against Donald Trump, not because the citizenry love them, but because our country is married to a two party system in which too many citizens only have exposure to the Republican/Democratic parties. A vote for Biden/Harris is a vote for a comprehensive playbook for COVID-19. A vote for Biden/Harris is a vote for order, organization and planning. A vote for Biden/Harris is a vote for “normalcy” in foreign policy. A vote for Biden/Harris stops some of the unnecessary daily chaos, stress and madness our country has been subjected to under the egocentric madness and ineptitudes of the Trump administration.

Do I believe the Biden/Harris ticket is the best choice for the United States? Under the current circumstances, yes I absolutely do. It is impossible for a candidate whose major concern is for the people to win the election. I know it, you know it, Bernie or bust voters know it, Green Party voters know it, Libertarians know it and many non-voters don’t believe it matters.

One collective thing we can do as one nation is vote Donald Trump out of office. The easiest way to do that is to vote the Biden/Harris ticket. Do we have to like it? No, we don’t have to like it. If you believe the current climate of our nation must be reversed, even if you don’t believe Biden/Harris will make the situation better, you have to understand they wouldn’t allow it to continue to progressively get worse.

Politically, Biden is far from one of my favorite politicians, same problem for me with Harris, but their election would not only give We The People a chance to stop and catch our breath for a second, it would also give us a chance to organize and figure out where we want our nation to go. Biden/Harris would give us the opportunity to demand our government move in a direction more in line with the will of the people.

I’m not saying things will be easy under the Biden/Harris administration, on the contrary, I’m saying it will be a hard fight to move our country in the direction the vast majority would like to see. I’m saying we will be protesting for years and they will fight us every step of the way. I’m saying we will have to fight for the nation and world we would like to see because they won't just hand it to us. I’m saying it’s easier to climb a mountain when you’re not fighting against a landslide downhill.

The Trump administration is the equivalent of climbing a mountain during a landslide. The Biden/Harris ticket won’t eliminate the problem, but it will stop the landslide. They may not have a vaccine to ensure safety, but they can recreate the Pandemic Playbook created by the Obama administration and implement it immediately, which would also help to save lives and some small businesses, provided they can last that long. Implementation of the Pandemic Playbook would properly utilize the War Production Act to better protect our citizenry and medical providers. Biden/Harris will have an education plan that takes the care, education and safety of our children as its focus.

Without doubt, the Tea Party pulled the Republican Party to the extreme right and the Democratic Party, in an effort to keep up also moved right, creating two parties that clearly represent corporate America and the 1% rather than the average American citizen. But allowing Donald Trump to have another term would further erode the freedoms and rights of American citizens and make the lives of countless others far harder than they need be.

Before we can do the necessary surgery to save our nation, we have to stop the bleeding. Right now, Donald J. Trump is the primary source of the wound. Are there problems that have existed long before he took office? Absolutely, but the chaos we are seeing, the American genocide of citizens due to COVID-19, the loss of worldwide respect of our nation, the economic disaster happening across our country, the open racism, antisemitism, sexism, xenophobia and discrimination we are living with are all a direct result of Donald Trump and the policies and behavior of his administration.

As a citizen of the United States of America, I fault myself for the state of our nation. While I voted, I didn’t write enough letters, emails or texts to the people representing me to make my wishes for our nation known. I didn’t make any phone calls to let my representatives know about my complaints about our government. I didn’t walk into their office and discuss my wants and concerns for my nation, state, county, city or community. I didn't lead protests or start petitions to promote my causes. As a citizen of the United States of America, I failed to do my part to ensure our nation made the changes I felt were important to the success of all citizens of our nation, but no more.

I vow to become a letter writing, emailing, texting, calling, nagging citizen. I will create petitions and lead protests to promote the changes I believe our nation needs to become a land of life, liberty and justice for all. My representatives will not only know me, they will know what I want to happen in my nation. I will nag them until they give me what I want for my community, city, county, state and nation. I will fight for a better America for me, you, our families and friends. But before I can do any of that, we desperately need to ensure Donald Trump is not reelected. And whether I like it or not, I will vote the Biden/Harris ticket because it is the best way to move towards the America I want to live in and save what is left of our republic.

I will vote the Biden/Harris ticket and for the sake and survival of our nation, you should too.