10 Days
ELECTION INFORMATION: Minnesota related; and National information.
Related Post: Fascism 1945, here.
This is my final paragraph, my final thought, before sending this post October 26, 2024. Our nation, the United States, has survived 237 years of sometimes very messy democracy – a nation which has embraced diversity in all of its forms, and a rule of law, embracing the secret ballot. We are on the precipice of throwing it all away to what amounts to a dictatorship which will force conformity and result ultimately in anarchy. The solution – the future – lies with each one of us, now: the right to vote. E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one.
There’s not much more to say: where I stand. I’m proud to be a Democrat and voted October 14. My opinion: at this time in history, there is no “Republican Party” worthy of the name. Anyone who is running for office who carried the myth of a stolen election in 2020 does not deserve a single vote in 2024. MAGA has been and is a destructive force, anti-democracy and freedom.
Nov. 5 will be the “family photo” of the United States of America – all of us, especially who we choose as as leaders at all levels. We all have a single vote.
Why should I care enough to bother to vote? Personally, Nov. 5 I’ll be halfway through my 85th year. Under the best of circumstances, my trip is near over. But my vote won’t be about me. My vote is for those who’ll be left behind.
It was a personal wake-up call to learn that Kamala Harris is younger than my first child; as is Tim Walz. (The three are all 60, a normal age for political figures now and before.)
Five days after Nov. 5, my youngest grandkid turns 18 . They, and everyone after them, also have to deal with the results of Nov. 5. The youngest is not old enough to vote Nov. 5.
This year especially, kids of any age, whether they vote or not, informed or not, are voting about their future. (When I was 18, voting age was 21. Todays kids have a privilege I didn’t have at their age.)
My advice is simple: before you vote, know why you’re voting for the persons you choose for every office. If you haven’t already voted, VOTE as if your future – and not only yours – depends on it.
There is a stark choice this November 5: a government for all the people; or a government for one person and the tiny sliver of the population who already have far too much, and want still more….
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Lately, the words Hitler and Fascism have officially entered the conversation. I looked up the word Fascist in my blog word search, and I think this may be a post you may want to read, the one from July 19, 2016, (Republican National Convention) written eight years ago, before the 2016 election. (Hitler died at his own hand shortly after his 56th birthday, and right before Germany surrendered, essentially destroyed by WWII. His 1,000 year Reich dream lasted less than a dozen years.)
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There is much left to say. Next posts will likely be posted about the time the first polls close on the evening of Nov. 5, and morning of Nov. 6. Check back. Have a great day.
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Side topic: Brian sends along a fascinating four minute view over part of Manhattan and Brooklyn. No politics, but just a fun piece of Drone view of the city. Here it is. Enjoy. Thanks, Brian.
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PERSONAL POSTNOTE: After I had finished this post, I saw two troubling pieces of data. This morning one correspondent sent a notice including a group photo of a bunch of international leaders which included, best I could count, 36 people. I responded: “Unless I miss something, 34 are men, all but two are white, 1 seems to be Arab. How many are autocrats? How many truly respect democracy?” The group, BRICS, included people like Putin….
Later, came a piece of data on the upcoming election, which indicated that only 36% of white men would likely vote for Harris/Walz. This was only data from somewhere. But it seems consistent with other data. Nothing was noted about the other 64%.
White men – my gender and color – are definitely an issue, most likely largely because they’ve always had the power, and think they are entitled to it, even if they aren’t. Played out, their’s is a smug, stupid, mindset.
At the same time, what puzzles me is that the alternative to Kamala Harris et al is very likely the most flawed human being ever to be nominated for the office of President by either major party. He has multiple indictments, convictions, could never be a reliable witness because he has no boundary between truth and lies, flourishes with cultivating fear and loathing and retribution, and has spent four years sowing chaos. On and on and on. He will be a disaster for all of us if elected, especially for his internal enemies which probably even include people like me.
The old saying applies: Caveat Emptor. Let the buyer beware.
Vote now or Nov. 5.
POSTNOTE 2 5:20 A.M. Oct. 24: Take the time to read this from Heather Cox Richardson, just received..
COMMENTS (more at end of post):
from Molly: Thanks, Dick, for another fine post.
from SAK: Thanks Mr Bernard, a good summing up of the present situation (not to say predicament!) & a call to vote.
Although the original long essay, The Paranoid Style in American Politics by Dr Richard Hofstadter, was written in the mid 60s & this review is 8 years old, I found it increasingly relevant.
A few extracts:
‘While a minority of the population will always be attracted to such rhetoric, the paranoid style as a mass phenomenon is episodic. What causes these waves? Hofstadter attributes them to “social conflicts that involve ultimate schemes of values and that bring fundamental fears and hatreds, rather than negotiable interests, into political action” [108]. At such moments, there is no possibility of compromise, negotiation, and reconciliation. Unable to legislate their absolutist principles, the paranoid spokesmen feel confirmed in their belief that the entire political process is a sham.’
‘Unlike earlier movements that used the paranoid style, the modern right, he notes, “feels dispossessed: America has been largely taken away from them and their kind, though they are determined to try to repossess it and to prevent the final destructive act of subversion” [109]. The anti-Catholic agitator of the nineteenth century sought to defend his homeland from Jesuit spies and foreign intrigue. The modern right-winger, on the other hand, sees within his own country “a conspiracy so vast” as to extend into every facet of society, including the highest circles of government, mass media, and the military.’
‘And, once again, as in The Age of Reform, he sought to expose the irrational and antidemocratic underpinnings of present-day social values and their spokesmen. The paranoid style – characterized by a suspicious and hostile regard for one’s opponents, and an emotion-driven disregard for facts – tinged the language of many fringe groups throughout the nation’s history; now, the spokesman of a major political party relied on it. The paranoid style therefore posed a grave threat to democracy.’
‘The pseudoconservative, he writes, “feels himself to be in a world in which he is spied upon, plotted against, betrayed, and very likely destined for total ruin” [110]. He is, for the most part, a proponent of very limited government, except where it comes to cracking down on Communism [in the present instance replace that with “immigration”, “wokery” etc] within the nation’s borders, and he defines his values in almost total opposition to the main currents of American society.’
‘His contention that “in a populistic culture like ours, …it is at least conceivable that a highly organized, vocal, active, and well-financed minority could create a political climate in which the rational pursuit of our well-being and safety would become impossible” not only strikes us as deeply relevant today, but to him it implied that, contrary to what he had thought as a younger historian, it was necessary to maintain shared values and to defend a liberal consensus that was weaker than he had once believed [117].’
Dick in response: I suppose there’s logic in there somewhere, but I have a hard time understanding how declaring people like myself as an enemy is helpful when they need all the friends they can get. I have been noticing very few T signs this year. A friend across the river sent a picture of an immense one recently; earlier today at a freeway bridge across the river was a platoon of T warriors with lots of flags. Lots of traffic, no horns I heard in support, which I found odd. I agree there’s lots of oratorical passion, still, but not much to back it up. We shall see. (On the D side, we don’t do as much of this kind of thing – more understated and probably more person to person. Again, just anecdotal.)
So true, Dick, in noting that really all that we can do as individuals is to make sure and vote. The race for the POTUS is still neck and neck meaning that Trump could win. If so, that would mean that the voters in the key states that will decide the Electoral College win prefer authoritarian rule rather than democracy, of course. That would also mean that many citizens agree with Trump that protestors should be punished and jailed and that the military should be used to suppress any person or group that opposes Donnie.
Cast my vote on the 24th!
We also voted October 14, but I had to skip over at least 2 opportunities because I simply couldn’t vote for them. I don’t remember having done that before. Go Democrats!