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The Great Betrayal

Our broken democracy

By Bonita L PetersonPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 7 min read
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It was a crushing day on so many levels. It started with great expectations of a hope-filled future and ended with a devastating slap in the face. The worst of it was realizing how naïve I really had been. I felt so conned and deceived. I pride myself on being discerning, so it was a devastating revelation.

Anticipation had been building for months leading up to the 2016 primaries. Loyalties were stronger than I’ve ever seen them. There were definitive lines drawn in the sand, deepened by both sides.

I was living in Kansas at the time. It is a closed primary state and selects the nominee after caucuses are held. I lived in the extreme northwest corner in a very sparsely populated area. The nearest caucus was almost a three-hour drive one-way. I had to take the entire day off work to attend, but was determined that nothing could stop me from going.

My daughter and I rode with friends, and we were all excited about being part of a history-making moment in time. Everyone in the car firmly supported Bernie Sanders and longed to live in the country for which he fought. We were all working-class people, fed up with slave labor wages and having our taxes support bloated corporate welfare kings. We were sick of working two jobs and never getting one centimeter ahead. We were nothing short of desperate for the changes of which Bernie spoke.

I am not young, and to me, this was my last chance to have the country for which I so desperately longed. I was uncharacteristically optimistic and full of hope. I had convinced myself that brighter days for all were on the horizon, and that people were actually seeing the value of “us” not “me”.

When we got there and my turn in line came, panic set in when they informed me I could not vote because I was dead. I felt it was clearly obvious that I was not, even though I didn’t look my best. Thankfully that was resolved without too much trouble and I was once again placed on the voter rolls.

After the time allotted for trying to sway people from Hilary’s side to change their minds, it was finally time to vote. The way it works is you split up standing with your chosen candidates group, then the counting begins. It was blatantly obvious that about 2/3 of the group were Bernie supporters and our side of the room dwarfed the other.

When the counting was done, the numbers clearly showed the same thing. The overwhelming majority of WE THE PEOPLE had chosen Bernie. We were ecstatic! It felt like winning the lottery. Had that been the end of it I would still be blindly stumbling after the Democratic party.

Then the rug was pulled from beneath my feet. My blind loyalty slapped me hard in the face when I understood the power of the democrat super delegate. I never imagined that democrats would throw away my vote, but that is exactly what happened. It happens to us and to others all across the USA. Many of my friends in different locations had their super delegates choose to ignor their wishes, giving the nomination to Hilary despite, her being the minority choice by far.

The super delegate decided we weren’t smart enough to make those big decisions and that it was her duty to protect the elite of the party. The elite wanted Hilary, WE THE PEOPLE wanted Bernie. She looked us in the face, stuck out her tongue, and set a match to our ballots. OK, so not literally, just figuratively, but it hurt like being cut with a knife. She disregarded the clear majority and voted as she had been told to by her elitist superiors.

I’ve never gotten over it and never will. I dropped the Dem party like a hot potato. It ruined my faith in free and fair elections. I will never again feel like my vote counts. As if the Republicans don’t do enough to hinder my faith in the process, my own party actually throwing away my vote was unbearable.

It affected every aspect of my life, even to the present day. I became depressed and withdrawn. Bitter and angry. Unable to find comfort in anything. My confidence in the system and in myself was in shambles. Every flaw in the system biting into me like a mad grizzly bear.

Gerrymandering, lobbyists, Citizens United, the electoral college, corruption and bribery, super delegates, and unscrupulous news media. It seems useless to fight against the might of the machine if voting is your only available course of action and voting doesn’t count.

I’m the kind of person who needs to have some control over my own destiny and I haven’t felt that way since the 2016 caucus debacle. It’s unsettling. I am a lifelong advocate of the less fortunate and self-appointed defender of the defenseless. It left me, for the first time in my life, feeling powerless.

Besides all that, it was embarrassing as hell to find my Republican friends were right. Many Democrats think themselves smarter and superior to others. They feel entitled to ignore the voice of the majority. Well, the super delegates and those above them, sure do, they proved that to be fact.

I used to feel like it was a good system. One party would balance out the other. The Democrats would almost break the bank tending to people and Republicans would prevent complete collapse by being fiscally responsible. Well in today’s politics, both parties just spend like drunken sailors, building debt that can never be paid.

I find myself all dressed up in political activism and having no place to go. I am too soft-hearted, yes snowflake-like, to endure siding with people who fight against school lunches and special Olympics. I don’t like money enough to be useful to capitalist thinking.

I’m fully aware that both parties serve useful purposes. Like when mom wants to take over the dog rescue and dad puts his foot down and says no, we can’t afford it and that would be mean to the dogs and our family. You may only rescue two dogs. Both are doing the right thing, both speaking of filling need. Not so different, just a balance to one another.

I can’t be a Republican because of my nature. I can’t be a Democrat because I disagree with voter suppression even if only within the party. So I settle for independent. That is disfranchising too though. You can’t vote in primaries in some states unless you are registered R or D. Another reminder they do not want my vote counted and assure that it isn’t.

Trump is not wrong about elections not being free and fair, but he lies like the devil about why. It isn’t because dead and undocumented people are voting or Dems are smuggling boxes of fake ballots in, or rigged electronic machines swapping votes. It really isn’t. More than 60 court cases back that statement. The problem is all the legalized corruption not to mention the shady corruption. It is the passing of laws that benefit only the rich, who in turn, benefit the people passing the laws. It’s a great system for the top. And therein lies the key, it isn’t right against left, it’s top against bottom, and most of us are the bottom.

It may be hard to believe but this isn’t written hoping to bring you down but to lift you up. To show you that the power is there for the taking if we can let go of our indoctrinated, almost cult-like faith, in those writing our laws. If we, the masses on the bottom, come together and stand against the few at the top we really could have it all.

I implore everyone to start admitting people within your party have flaws. Some of them have big ones. I implore you to understand that both sides are in bed together planning the next manipulation to keep us distracted. Please realize the reality is probably more sordid than we think. I feel certain that even politicians with good intentions quickly find themselves blackmailed with dirt found on them or a family member. People will do anything if their families are threatened. The blow is softened as the benefits roll in, making it likely, almost universal.

Let’s quit blaming each other and start blaming the real villains.

activismcongresscontroversiescorruptionlegislationpoliticianspoliticsvoting
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About the Creator

Bonita L Peterson

For five decades I have wanted to write and I finally have the time to do it. I am, what I like to call, a bit eccentric others may just call a little crazy. I'll leave it up to you to decide.

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  • Amy Hallabout a year ago

    Loved and subscribed! Can't wait to read more of your work! Consider having a look at mine and if you like it, please subscribe... there's a lot to come! I look forward to seeing more of your work!

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