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We are almost always faced with limited choices in our lives. Do we get up out of bed in the morning or sleep in? Do we take this job that we aren’t excited about, or remain unemployed until we find the right one? We will suffer in the short term, but be happier later. Do we spend money on that Apple watch that will check our heart rate, or control our impulse and put money in savings for the vacation we are planning? Do we make the effort to participate in our government while we have the chance, or sit back and wait for whatever comes.
In America, we are currently faced with a limited choice for president. There are only two candidates. There is no viable third party candidate. There is no dream scenario where someone more palatable sweeps in, or the Palestinians are given a state.
Many of my family and friends say they will not vote for Joe Biden because of his failure to rein in Israel’s unrelenting war against the Palestinians. They call it a genocide. They are morally outraged and refuse to support anyone who is not as morally outraged as they are. They threaten to not choose at all–to not vote. And as we all know, that in itself is a choice. It is a choice to surrender. Or as I try to explain, a choice for Trump.
Ken Burns eloquently described our two choices to the graduates of Brandeis University in his commencement address this way: “There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249 year old experiment (democracy), or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route.” He is, of course, talking about Trump when he talks about entropy. It will be a descent into disorder and chaos where your beliefs and moral compass no longer matter. All that will matter is Trump and his family.
But we are at what Malcolm Gladwell describes as a tipping point my friends. We are at a moment of critical mass that will determine the outcome of our nation for a long time to come. Gladwell describes how relationships are the key to social change. This is our moment to affect our future, and become the influencers within our networks.
If we do not want to end up living in a dictatorship, we must make the only choice possible of those we are given. We must decide to vote for Biden. He is the short term choice for long term survival. He has seen us through a pandemic that would have broken the country if we still had the president who promoted injecting chlorine as a cure. If we disagree with his decisions in Palestine and international relationships, let’s tell him! Flood the White House switchboard; crash the White House web site. The college students have laid the groundwork. Biden is old, but he is capable, and still sharp enough to address the nation coherently for an hour and a half. It’s time to quit age-bashing. We want someone who understands the world, and who actually requests the presidential daily briefing.
The next step is to share your decision and maybe share this article as an explanation. We have two choices and Biden is the only way to survive long enough to make any change in the Middle East. Let’s put our own oxygen mask on first. What is happening in Gaza is a travesty. It is shameful that we support a nation responsible for the deaths of 35,000 mostly women and
children. Continue to voice your outrage to demand our president change course. But if Trump wins, your voices will likely never be heard again.
For the first time in our history, this may be the last breath of our democracy. Trump has already talked about his third term, about stopping immigration (remember his Muslim ban), about taking revenge on the Department of Justice and FBI, about bombing Mexico, about him being sent by God.
It is true that our government and our democracy are not perfect. It may seem as if our choice is limited. But our future choices depend on Biden.
