“But the fear of another Trump term is not enough to motivate me to turn out for Harris…” is troubling statement. I am married to a Muslim immigrant, have two children who carry Muslim names, one of whom is also gay. I read that statement as completely dismissive of the very real fear my family feels! And, frankly, also of every person at risk in the Middle East, Sudan, Kenya, Ukraine, Central America et.al. Again, I’m married to a Muslim, so we have had MANY conversations about Israel’s actions and America’s role in supporting them. And, I’m certainly not happy with the approach of the American government. But, I know, because he’s already shown us (remember the Muslim ban?) that another Donald Trump presidency could have serious ramifications for anyone not of a privileged class (read white, native born, Christian-even if only tangentially) living in the US. And, again, his foreign “policy” will be an utter disaster and most likely make a bad situation, particularly in the Middle East, even worse. I want to be clear that if we had a standard?, normal? Republican running who would simply hold the status quo that Harris is likely to hold, I wouldn’t feel so strongly about this…but I also don’t think you would frame the argument that way, which in itself should be telling.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, Marianna. I completely agree that another Trump term would be a total disaster for so many in the world. But I keep questioning for myself how I can vote for somebody who is actively promoting a genocide in Palestine and now beyond, somebody who vowed on the convention stage that America would have the most lethal military in the world. My vote should be affirmatively for a candidate, not just against her opponent.
My ultimate hope is that enough people are willing to speak out that it moves Harris's positions more to the left and away from this warmongering. But so many people seem caught up in the mania of what she could represent demographically that they aren't willing to push her on any issues. It's a fraught time, and I wish we had better choices.
Thank you as always for reading and for sharing your thoughts!
As usual all of this is spot on. I’m struggling between invoices at this point, but I am still 100 % in support of how you plan to approach this, especially being in a hard Blue state. If I was home, it would be different.
And being in a hard Blue place where stuff is taken for granted is hard. But I’m committed to doing my part.
My progressive pal in Kentucky has the exact same voting logic as you, but he says "I'm in a reliably red state so my vote doesn't count" and I'm not sure how much I love this way of dismissing our power!
It's true, especially in aggregate. Each voice does add up to a lot more. I think my trouble is in voting for something that I see as very destructive, even more so now that Iran is bombing Israel. We are headed to WWIII, and I have a very hard time endorsing people that are okay with that.
“But the fear of another Trump term is not enough to motivate me to turn out for Harris…” is troubling statement. I am married to a Muslim immigrant, have two children who carry Muslim names, one of whom is also gay. I read that statement as completely dismissive of the very real fear my family feels! And, frankly, also of every person at risk in the Middle East, Sudan, Kenya, Ukraine, Central America et.al. Again, I’m married to a Muslim, so we have had MANY conversations about Israel’s actions and America’s role in supporting them. And, I’m certainly not happy with the approach of the American government. But, I know, because he’s already shown us (remember the Muslim ban?) that another Donald Trump presidency could have serious ramifications for anyone not of a privileged class (read white, native born, Christian-even if only tangentially) living in the US. And, again, his foreign “policy” will be an utter disaster and most likely make a bad situation, particularly in the Middle East, even worse. I want to be clear that if we had a standard?, normal? Republican running who would simply hold the status quo that Harris is likely to hold, I wouldn’t feel so strongly about this…but I also don’t think you would frame the argument that way, which in itself should be telling.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, Marianna. I completely agree that another Trump term would be a total disaster for so many in the world. But I keep questioning for myself how I can vote for somebody who is actively promoting a genocide in Palestine and now beyond, somebody who vowed on the convention stage that America would have the most lethal military in the world. My vote should be affirmatively for a candidate, not just against her opponent.
My ultimate hope is that enough people are willing to speak out that it moves Harris's positions more to the left and away from this warmongering. But so many people seem caught up in the mania of what she could represent demographically that they aren't willing to push her on any issues. It's a fraught time, and I wish we had better choices.
Thank you as always for reading and for sharing your thoughts!
As usual all of this is spot on. I’m struggling between invoices at this point, but I am still 100 % in support of how you plan to approach this, especially being in a hard Blue state. If I was home, it would be different.
And being in a hard Blue place where stuff is taken for granted is hard. But I’m committed to doing my part.
It is hard indeed, but glad you're doing your part Kristen!
I remember those shows on TOH.
They were memorable to create too!
My progressive pal in Kentucky has the exact same voting logic as you, but he says "I'm in a reliably red state so my vote doesn't count" and I'm not sure how much I love this way of dismissing our power!
It's true, especially in aggregate. Each voice does add up to a lot more. I think my trouble is in voting for something that I see as very destructive, even more so now that Iran is bombing Israel. We are headed to WWIII, and I have a very hard time endorsing people that are okay with that.