A Succinct Distillation

Image from mydailynews.com

This blog, originally intended to be the journal of a writer on writing, has become more of a place for political commentary of late. In my own defense, let me note that we're in the thick of an election year marked by highly extreme views, views that cry out for commentary.

It's hard to imagine a better, more succinct distillation of the stark choice we face in November than the one articulated by Clinton last night: 

     "The most important question is, what kind of country do     you want to live in? If you want a 'you're on your own, winner-take-all' society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility -- a 'we're-all-in-this-together' society -- you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden."

*     *     *

Clinton managed to capture the essence of the choice without even alluding to the genuinely disturbing social policy positions of the opposition. Choosing to pander to the most extreme faction of their base, Republican Party leaders have adopted one of the most hardline platforms of any party in modern times. They have unabashedly declared themselves to be the party of the corporation over the individual; the multimillionaire over the ordinary working person; the male over the female, and the religious extremist over the secular or religious moderate. Moderation itself,  historically viewed as a virtue among conservatives, now appears to be considered anathema. Not to put too fine a point on it, their clearly-stated regressive social views place the rights of women, minorities of all kinds, the middle class and the poor in actual jeopardy.

As a registered Independent, I rarely accuse one political party while singing the praises of another (there's usually plenty of credit and blame to go around). But I submit that in the particular climate in which we find ourselves, there simply seems to be only one party that is interested in the well-being of anyone who is not wealthy, white, male, and (ostensibly, at least) straight and some species of Christian. It seems clear to me that women who prize their self-determination, racial minorities, the LGBT community, secularists and members of minority religions (other than the Church of Latter-Day Saints) have exactly one place to turn in November. Unless they choose to vote against their own self-interest, which sometimes happens in the case of the single-issue, ideologically-driven voter. 

This election is about all Americans, not just about individual sectors of the population; nor is it solely about economics. Issues of basic fairness and equal opportunity for all should also inform the choices we make in the voting booth. 



Cheers,

WKF