A PERSONAL REFLECTION ON THE MEANING OF MY VOTE
Peace. This whole campaign I was really torn between voting my conscience (Cynthia McKinney/ Rosa Clemente of the Green party), voting for Barack (who has advocated for some questionable things, hence there is an air of unpredictability if he gets in office, but he could be decent) or not voting (obviously I wouldn't vote for McCain). Now, I've voted ever since I was old enough to vote and had never seriously considered not voting. I have voted my conscience and I have voted for the lesser of 2 evils (didn't want to but thought it was the best decision). But I decided to take a chance on Barack, especially since out of the options I was considering he had the best chance of getting elected and he has some alright policy on some things. Don't get me wrong...this system is corrupt and Barack could either bring about some nominal change (after he is given the task of cleaning up all the shit first, which could take all of his first term entirely) or he could usher in a new wave of lite imperialism and he'll be pegged as the one who was able to get people to believe in the system again to pacify and get people to continue to take the blue pill.
I still don't know about this guy. But I thought of 3 things: 1) Allah (the founder of the Nation of Gods and Earths) said that this is our country and we have to make the country strong by being a strong Nation (NGE). Allah interacted with the political system and one could say was politically a reformer; 2) As revolutionary as El Hajj Malik Shabazz was (who is one of my heroes), he still organized voter education drives...he knew that the sysem was fucked up but that Black folks had human and civil rights that should be fought for AND that was a way to engage the masses to provide exposure to other ideas; and 3) I used to say that the argument that "our ancestors fought and died for us to vote" was not a good enough argument to keep voting and participating in a corrupt system. But the other day, I thought that if Black folks weren't able to vote in 2008, all those people talkin about fuck voting would be fighting for the right to vote!
So I went ahead and did it.
But the key isn't just in voting and I think we all know that. Voting is just one small thing I do for an hour (if that) every 4 years. So to me, I didn't do anything big. Maybe I was a part of somethng potentially big by my action, but for me, the day to day work that I do means much more to me. So I do the grassroots stuff and I do what some would say is my civic duty (you can do both...doing one aspect does not have to be in exclusion of the other). I still have to improve upon getting involved in local politics.
At this time, whether you love, hate or question Obama, the bottom line is that he has energized a significant portion of the population not just to believe in him, but everybody kinda sees that the country and how it currently runs is fucked up and unfair. People are open to alternatives. People are open to personal and collective change. People are awake! It truly is inspiring to see so many people engaged politically.
So now, we have a window of opportunity to really continue to push our initiatives, ideas, and alternatives before people go back to sleep. Some people may go back to sleep whether he wins or loses. Why? Cuz if he wins, then SOME people will think everything's alright and not push as hard as needed and if he loses SOME people will feel so dejected and depressed, losing interest in politics or anything related, and that depression may manifest into apathy or lack of action.
So if Barack gets in, we can be proud and celebrate the milestone (this is truly a moment in history, not gonna lie about that), but we also have to hold him accountable (as we should have been holding every White man accountable who's been in office, but can't change the past!). We've given him some passes (AIPAC speech, approval of wiretap cover up, not openly advocating for Black or working class people...he talks mostly about the middle class from what I've seen, etc) and overlooked some things in the name of, "Well he may just be doing what he has to do to get elected," or "he's not the president of Black America, he's the president of America," because we want to claim him as ours. But will he claim us is the question. But we won't really know that until he gets in office and shows us who he is FOR REAL. If he doesn't win, especially on some bullshit, maybe we will truly see how corrupt the system is and allow that to motivate all of us for pushing for real change. Either way, we gotta keep pushing.
Remember remember the 5th of November... (V for Vendetta)
I guess we'll see what happens, but regardless, be safe, be prepared, and keep fighting and organizing ON THE GROUND!
Peace
I Medina Peaceful Earth
Peace. This whole campaign I was really torn between voting my conscience (Cynthia McKinney/ Rosa Clemente of the Green party), voting for Barack (who has advocated for some questionable things, hence there is an air of unpredictability if he gets in office, but he could be decent) or not voting (obviously I wouldn't vote for McCain). Now, I've voted ever since I was old enough to vote and had never seriously considered not voting. I have voted my conscience and I have voted for the lesser of 2 evils (didn't want to but thought it was the best decision). But I decided to take a chance on Barack, especially since out of the options I was considering he had the best chance of getting elected and he has some alright policy on some things. Don't get me wrong...this system is corrupt and Barack could either bring about some nominal change (after he is given the task of cleaning up all the shit first, which could take all of his first term entirely) or he could usher in a new wave of lite imperialism and he'll be pegged as the one who was able to get people to believe in the system again to pacify and get people to continue to take the blue pill.
I still don't know about this guy. But I thought of 3 things: 1) Allah (the founder of the Nation of Gods and Earths) said that this is our country and we have to make the country strong by being a strong Nation (NGE). Allah interacted with the political system and one could say was politically a reformer; 2) As revolutionary as El Hajj Malik Shabazz was (who is one of my heroes), he still organized voter education drives...he knew that the sysem was fucked up but that Black folks had human and civil rights that should be fought for AND that was a way to engage the masses to provide exposure to other ideas; and 3) I used to say that the argument that "our ancestors fought and died for us to vote" was not a good enough argument to keep voting and participating in a corrupt system. But the other day, I thought that if Black folks weren't able to vote in 2008, all those people talkin about fuck voting would be fighting for the right to vote!
So I went ahead and did it.
But the key isn't just in voting and I think we all know that. Voting is just one small thing I do for an hour (if that) every 4 years. So to me, I didn't do anything big. Maybe I was a part of somethng potentially big by my action, but for me, the day to day work that I do means much more to me. So I do the grassroots stuff and I do what some would say is my civic duty (you can do both...doing one aspect does not have to be in exclusion of the other). I still have to improve upon getting involved in local politics.
At this time, whether you love, hate or question Obama, the bottom line is that he has energized a significant portion of the population not just to believe in him, but everybody kinda sees that the country and how it currently runs is fucked up and unfair. People are open to alternatives. People are open to personal and collective change. People are awake! It truly is inspiring to see so many people engaged politically.
So now, we have a window of opportunity to really continue to push our initiatives, ideas, and alternatives before people go back to sleep. Some people may go back to sleep whether he wins or loses. Why? Cuz if he wins, then SOME people will think everything's alright and not push as hard as needed and if he loses SOME people will feel so dejected and depressed, losing interest in politics or anything related, and that depression may manifest into apathy or lack of action.
So if Barack gets in, we can be proud and celebrate the milestone (this is truly a moment in history, not gonna lie about that), but we also have to hold him accountable (as we should have been holding every White man accountable who's been in office, but can't change the past!). We've given him some passes (AIPAC speech, approval of wiretap cover up, not openly advocating for Black or working class people...he talks mostly about the middle class from what I've seen, etc) and overlooked some things in the name of, "Well he may just be doing what he has to do to get elected," or "he's not the president of Black America, he's the president of America," because we want to claim him as ours. But will he claim us is the question. But we won't really know that until he gets in office and shows us who he is FOR REAL. If he doesn't win, especially on some bullshit, maybe we will truly see how corrupt the system is and allow that to motivate all of us for pushing for real change. Either way, we gotta keep pushing.
Remember remember the 5th of November... (V for Vendetta)
I guess we'll see what happens, but regardless, be safe, be prepared, and keep fighting and organizing ON THE GROUND!
Peace
I Medina Peaceful Earth
posted by I Medina Peaceful Earth @ 4:17 PM
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