Kamala for President!

I went to bed last Saturday night and said a little prayer that President Biden would withdraw his candidacy the next day. I’ve felt in my gut since his dismal debate performance that he could not win and encouraged him through multiple emails to withdraw. Some thought he should stay, but I among many others, pressured him to withdraw.

Then with the shooting, the Republican Convention, and his Covid diagnosis, I felt an announcement on Sunday would be perfect timing because of all the political shows presented that day. And I was right! His withdrawal that day caught all the pundits by surprise, but not me. Those political pundits are wrong about a lot of things these days. They were the ones who never believed that Donald Trump could win the presidency in 2016. I’m tired of the constant speculations and I refuse to give their opinions much weight. I watch the news for facts, not for interpretations and predictions.

I was pleased by Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris and stunned by the rapid endorsements she received from all the other potential candidates. Many, like me, immediately opened my wallet and the funds to fuel her election campaign started pouring in. For the first time in months, I felt like we could really win this election and protect the people we love as well as the earth we live on. This candidacy is about the freedom to live our lives in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. It is about expanding equal justice under the law and equal opportunities to succeed. It is about fairness in the tax code, protecting the environment, access to healthcare, minimizing poverty, and preserving our rights to vote, love, speak, protest, worship, be safe, and to make reproductive decisions that are best for us. The contrast between what Kamala is offering and what Trump is offering is stark.

As Kamala’s campaign has already articulated, Trump wants to take us back to a past where white male privilege blocks equal access to opportunities and rights for women and minorities. “We will not go back” is a fitting slogan for the Harris campaign. Her campaign is highlighting how Project 2025 provides a blueprint to strip away the rights of workers, women, LGBTQ folks, and anyone who would dare protest against the president. Project 2025 codifies a system where heterosexual Christian men call all the shots and the rest of us are simply servants to their laws and dictates for how we should live. It is the opposite of freedom; it is fascism.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of voting Americans who harbor enough fear, hatred, or misinformation regarding issues like the economy, education, abortion, immigration, crime, history, science, transgender people, and religious minorities that they will vote for a person who promises to “Make America Great Again” no matter how flawed the candidate is or how horrific America once was for a good portion of the country who do not look or think like them. They just want to be comfortable. They’re not comfortable with the changing ethnic demographics. They’re not comfortable with the changing power dynamics they see around them. They’re not comfortable with the changing morality. They’re not comfortable with the rapid scientific evidence that challenges many of their religious beliefs. They fear change and hate the people who represent that change.

Trump supporters want to believe that climate change is a hoax. They want to believe that pregnancy is easy and complication free. They want to believe that there are only two genders. They want to believe that the Bible can replace scientific knowledge. They want to believe that they can pray the gay away. They want to believe that we were founded as a Christian nation. They want to believe that men are smarter, stronger, and superior to women. They want to believe that men are protectors and defenders of women. They want to believe that whiteness is superior and qualified to lead. They want to believe that guns protect them. They want to believe that the wealthy will take care of the poor.

This November will determine the trajectory of our nation. Will we continue to move toward a multicultural society where every American enjoys equal rights under the law, where a safety net exists for the most vulnerable, where we work to mitigate climate change, and where everyone enjoys expanding economic and social opportunities? Or will we create a “Christian” patriarchal system ruled by heterosexual Christian males, Old-Testament based lawmaking, and a denial of environmental dangers? The choice is ours and the responsibility to secure the future we desire lies squarely on our shoulders.

Our first responsibility is to register to vote, making sure to have state issued ID, and then to vote. But because the stakes are higher than ever, we should do more than this. Our second job is to educate the people around us about the stakes involved in this election, whether through art, music, social media posts, or casual conversation. Too many are unaware of the threat because they are busy living their lives. Know the facts and have your talking points ready to share at every opportunity. Third, we should donate to the campaigns of candidates standing up for our freedoms. Fourth, we should volunteer to register voters, work for campaigns, or serve as poll workers. I personally think it’s imperative to insist that our local governments provide poll security this year, especially in red states. If folks can vote early, use a drop box or vote by mail, they should definitely do so.

And finally, we must fight on behalf of our fellow citizens who are subjected to long voting lines. It is unfair voter suppression for people in poor neighborhoods to be forced to wait hours to vote while affluent voters can walk right in to cast their votes. Personally, I have never waited more than 15 minutes to vote because I live in an affluent area. Until the 2020 election, I thought this was true across the nation. I was disturbed to learn that people in urban areas waited as long as 11 hours to cast their ballots. Of course, we will never know how many people simply gave up because they couldn’t wait that long. The Republican led states are notorious for limiting drop boxes, voting by mail, and not accepting student IDs. It is up to us to address this issue now. This is a civil rights issue, and we should contact the NAACP and the Department of Justice to raise the issue and demand that they make this right.

Yesterday, Trump promised his Christian supporters that this would be the last election they will need to vote in should he win because they will fix things to make it so. Believe him! As I write this post, the polls indicate that this will be a close election. I acknowledge that we may or may not agree with all of Kamala’s policies, but the alternative is a loss of our basic freedoms and exposure of the most vulnerable among us to hardship. So, it is time for all hands-on deck to ensure an equitable and livable future for us and our loved ones.