The poor can no longer afford the rich
Latinos are the 2nd largest voting bloc in the country.
PHOTO: LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, with little more than two months to go before the national elections of 2020, we are down to a choice between Democratic candidate Joe Biden for President of the United States, or another four years of Donald Trump.
Some may say that there is little difference between the two. Both represent corporate interests, have favored increased incarceration, aggressive international interventions that heighten the risk of war, and opposed Medicare for All, among other concerns. And this is all true. It is also true that there were better Democratic Party candidates such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and perhaps Andrew Yang.
The fact that we are even in the position of having to choose between two undesirable candidates highlights the significance and critical nature of how we vote in November. An election for Trump gives permission for the unbridled use of ever more severe legal and extralegal measures to crush our democracy, freedoms, and right to survive as human beings. As it is, he has suppressed the vote, restricted mail in ballots in Democratic-leaning states, unleashed military-style police to crush peaceful protest, and disarmed our public health system from preparing for and dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
PHOTO: LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
The difference between Trump and Biden is a matter of degree. With Trump we see the open face of fascism. A win for him means unbridled fascist terror.
A vote for Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris gives us breathing room, and time to regroup in our interests. Make no mistake. The Democratic Party establishment is not our friend, either. Wall Street and Silicon Valley made it abundantly clear that they would not support a Democratic Party candidate who taxed the rich and would not do their bidding. A win for Biden just buys us time.
In truth, both political parties are in the same situation. While capitalism functioned, democracy was the perfect shell for its growth, with hard-fought reforms expanding democracy for women, former slaves, immigrants, and working people. Now that capitalism is ending due to labor-replacing technology the world over, democracy is seen as an obsolete obstacle. But the Democrats must at least give it lip service – for now.
We must begin to take our country back from Wall Street and the corporatists, whether Democratic or Republican. We can start now by supporting Black Lives Matter, completing the Census, fighting evictions and unjust deportations, etc. But vote like your future depends on it because it does.
