Socialism is the Best Medicine

Socialism is the Best Medicine

Why I’m NOT Voting for Obama

October 9, 2008

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Nuestras sueños no caben en sus urnas
– Our dreams do not fit in your ballot boxes –

The most compelling reason to vote for Barack Obama is that he is Black, and a Black family in the White House would be a blow to all racists.

Nevertheless, I am not voting for Obama. Here are four good reasons:

The mortgage meltdown: I’m not voting for Obama because he would rather bail out the banking system than protect working people from foreclosures. I want a president who will put people first and leave Corporate America to solve their own problems.

War: I’m not voting for Obama because he supports the U.S. domination of the Middle East. I want a president who will bring all troops home immediately and end America’s efforts to dominate the world.

Medicare for all: I’m not voting for Obama because he supports the medical insurance industry. I want a president who will kick those parasites out the door and construct a system of socialized medicine – like the Veterans’ Administration, only better funded – so that all Americans get the care they need.

Israel: I’m not voting for Obama because he supports the Israeli destruction of Palestine. I want a president who condemns all forms of racism at home and abroad.

What I want is not on offer in this election. I am supposed to forget about what I want and accept the-same-old-same-old dressed to look like something different. Been there, done that – with Bill Clinton. Can’t fool me again.

I am told I should vote for Obama to prevent McCain from being elected. Yes, there are differences between the Democratic and Republican Parties. The two-party system depends on the ability of one party to serve the corporate agenda when the other party is too discredited to do so. McCain and Obama have (slightly) different views on how to run a capitalist system that can function only by running our lives into the ground.

No wonder the majority do not vote.

Most of the people who run the world are not elected: executives and bureaucrats, bosses and landlords, bankers and generals. This is why, no matter who is elected, imperial wars will continue to destroy lives at home and abroad. The economy will continue to be sustained at the expense of working people. The environment will continue to be destroyed for profit. And more Americans will lose access to vital social supports.

Not voting is a vote of non-confidence in an electoral system that is run like a horse race.

When the leading horse starts to lose its usefulness (too many lies, too much corruption, too many mistakes), reformers clamor to kick that horse out of the race. A new horse is presented as much better – a real change! The same track is used, and the new horse runs in the same direction as the old one.

When voters realize they’ve been duped, they are encouraged to wait for the next race. After several rounds of backing seemingly different horses, only to be betrayed, people lose hope.

As long as democracy is equated with elections (“You can’t complain if you do not vote” ), nothing will change. We cannot move forward as long if we accept what we do not want in order to prevent what we want even less.

Real change comes from below, not from above.

We need to fight for a completely different society that makes human needs a priority.

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