This will be my first blog ever and what has prompted me to take this unprecedented move was the e-mail I received from the Daily Kos inviting my two cents worth regarding “What advice would you give to the young Bernie Sanders activists today.”
Since I’m new to this, I guess some background on myself is in order. I’m a third generation Asian-American. My grandfather fought in WWI; my father and my uncle were part of the highly-decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team while the rest of their family spent World War II in a relocation camp. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1980s. The most indelible lesson I was left with was how much of our lives are determined by the circumstances in which we are born. I acknowledge the exceptions, but I firmly reject the notion that they should be foremost when considering how to build a better world. After returning home, I earned a Ph. D. in American History. What interested me most was the social upheaval which accompanied the rise of the Industrial Age. I studied a lot of contemporary thinking regarding that transition and a lot of reform movements. My keen interest in (dare I say obsession with?) American politics started when I was earning my Ph. D.
And now to what prompted this blog in the first place:
I have been aware of Bernie Sanders for a long time and agree with more of his positions than Clinton’s. But as I watched him gain an enthusiastic following among among the new-to-politics young generation and others, my happiness was always accompanied by a sense of dread. Yes, I did hear him say that change would be hard work, but I wondered how much of that part of his message was sinking in. And, although I didn’t listen to every word he said, at no time did I hear him say that going forward would involve compromise and, more than likely, setbacks along the way. Maybe he did and the Sanders supporters who are now denouncing him as a sell-out closed their ears, but I think not.
I am very concerned about the disillusioned idealists who will be Never Hillary voters and I dislike the condescending lecturing and ridicule which has often been aimed their way. I believe I understand their disappointment. As someone fairly steeped in American History, it has been incredibly painful to see the Republican Party regress to a point which I once naively thought was unimaginable. The Democrats have their issues, but to say both parties are equally bad and equally to blame reveals an interest in politics which, up to this point, has only been skin deep.
I would like the Never Hillary folks to respect the work and wisdom of those who have gone before them and those whose knowledge of this nation far supersedes their own. Sanders is telling you that Donald Trump absolutely needs to be defeated; Clinton needs to be elected; a vote for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson at this critical time is ill-advised. I have noticed that the Daily Kos has posted an essay on Lesser Evil Voting by Noam Chomsky, who takes second place to no one when it comes to skewering our money-corrupted politics at home and our military engagements. Chomsky emphatically rejects the notion that voting should be perceived as a means of expressing one’s moral outrage against a major party candidate who fails to meet one’s rigorous standards or against a corrupt system which limits the choice of candidates. Lesser Evil Voting, which will result in a Trump victory, will have consequences: progressive goals will be set back and the most vulnerable segments of society will suffer dis-proportionally. Surely, this isn’t what you want.
And closer to my realm of familiarity, there are the historians steeped in American History. Ken Burns, David McCullough and many others have created a Facebook page because they find Trump to be such an exceptionally alarming figure that he needs to be soundly defeated this November. I would encourage you to listen to what they have to say.
So Never Hillary folks, please exercise a little humility and try not to become so cynical that you give up working toward our shared goals.