Image Transcription:

A tweet from the George Takei Twitter account which states:

"A Democrat was in the White House when my family was sent to the internment camps in 1941. It was an egregious violation of our human and civil rights.

It would have been understandable if people like me said they’d never vote for a Democrat again, given what had been done to us.

But being a liberal, being a progressive, means being able to look past my own grievances and concerns and think of the greater good. It means working from within the Democratic party to make it better, even when it has betrayed its values.

I went on to campaign for Adlai Stevenson when I became an adult. I marched for civil rights and had the honor of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King. I fought for redress for my community and have spent my life ensuring that America understood that we could not betray our Constitution in such a way ever again.

Bill Clinton broke my heart when he signed DOMA into law. It was a slap in the face to the LGBTQ community. And I knew that we still had much work to do. But I voted for him again in 1996 despite my misgivings, because the alternative was far worse. And my obligation as a citizen was to help choose the best leader for it, not to check out by not voting out of anger or protest.

There is no leader who will make the decision you want her or him to make 100 percent of the time. Your vote is a tool of hope for a better world. Use it wisely, for it is precious. Use it for others, for they are in need of your support, too."

End Transcription.

The last paragraph I find particularly powerful and something more people really should take into account.

  • HobbitFoot English
    15·
    1 year ago

    What is defeatist about it? It is about constantly participating in the system to make sure your views are still considered.

    It means participating in primaries to make sure some of your candidates get picked even if others are going to lose. For instance, I’m going to vote in the primary because it will have a major impact on choosing a Senator of my state even if Biden is going to be the Presidential nominee.

    It means choosing candidates in the general election that you can at least try to influence with protests and other actions after the election. I’d rather have a percentage of what I want politically done than nothing.

    The alternative seems to be not to participate, which feels more defeatist.

    • Maalus@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      Thw alternative is to choose people who would change the status quo of just having to choose between two candidates. Seriously, how is it democracy, if it’s the exact same shit going on year after year after year? One president is a democrat, one is a republican. Average that out, and it flip flops from one to the other. Neither change the status quo at all. So maybe vote in someone who will?

      • null@slrpnk.net
        7·
        1 year ago

        Thw alternative is to choose people who would change the status quo of just having to choose between two candidates.

        If only it were that simple.

              • null@slrpnk.netEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                Of course not – so what you’re effectively saying is that it’s “simple” to get enough people to agree on what the right changes are to the status quo, and collectively back a candidate that promises those changes for them to get enough votes to be able to make those changes.

                Which is of course exactly what 3rd party candidates are attempting to do by campaigning in the first place. I wonder if they know how “simple” it’s supposed to be.

                • Maalus@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  1 year ago

                  Yeah it is simple - when people stop buying the “a vote for third party is lost”. Go out, protest, vote for 3rd parties. But nope, it’s easier to let democracy be eroded further and further.

                  • null@slrpnk.netEnglish
                    3·
                    1 year ago

                    You must have missed this part, let me copy and paste it again for you:

                    “get enough people to agree on what the right changes are to the status quo, and collectively back a candidate that promises those changes for them to get enough votes to be able to make those changes.”

                    Please explain how that’s simple to make happen.

                    Right now, what you’re saying is tantamount to saying that achieving world piece is simple, all people need to do is just be kind to each other. It’s cute, but it’s completely devoid of any critical thought.

      • HobbitFoot English
        3·
        1 year ago

        The President isn’t a dictator; a lot of decisions are made by other politicians as I noted. Hell, we are seeing what happens when you have a divided government versus one led by one party.

        Also, there is voting in primaries. Again, the presidential candidate may be chosen, but there are other candidates as well and some may need your support and align with your interests.

        And I get that you might have an election with a candidate you may not love like Biden or you find out that a candidate is a piece of shit like Simena. However, I’d still rather show up and get a chance to affect the choosing of my leaders rather than not.

        Not voting is defeatism.