There's a certain irony in the conservatives saying that they're "taking back their country," because that's exactly what I intend to do tomorrow. Oh, I don't mean it the way they mean it. I've never been rich or male, so this country was, at best, only partially mine to do with as I saw fit. No, when I say I'm voting tomorrow to take my country back, I mean something a bit different.
I'm voting to take it back from politicians who can't be bothered to learn the history of the country they're pledging to protect and serve or the documents on which it was founded. From grandstanders who don’t understand
what freedoms were granted to us under the Constitution, much less the reasons why
those particular freedoms needed to be explicitly laid out. From those who are so greedy for power over the rest of us that they can't comprehend how
they too are protected by the status quo.
I'm voting to take it back from the corporations that have
bought their way into our political process. From those who are required, under threat from shareholders, to try to steer that process toward short-term gains for them rather than toward long-term security and prosperity for us all. From those who
violate the trust and values of their employees and customers. From those who think their ability to
coddle their corporate buddies is more important than living up to the public trust they've been granted as utilities. From those who aren't competent to manage changes in our economy without
government handouts and anti-competitive legislation.
I'm voting to take it back from the rich who are constantly whining that
they won't make us more jobs unless we give them all that they ask for, despite the fact that they simply have very little control over the process. From those clueless enough that they
can't handle additional investment capital without creating a market bubble. From those who are sniveling that
they can't make ends meet if they have to pay for the benefits they've been given. From those who think that being willing to game the system to reward their own selfishness is a virtue that entitles them to
a louder voice in our collective political process.
I'm voting to take it back from the ethical weaklings, whose own moral decision-making process is so out of their control that they want someone to control mine, too. From those who think laws will keep them from having the
sex they already need to hide to stay in power. From those who
manage their own relationships so poorly that
they feel threatened by whom I and mine love and desire. From those who can't be bothered to figure out
how to actually achieve the ends they claim to want. From those who value a scrap of tissue with rather poor chances over a human being in need.
I'm voting to take it back from a media that's
inane and
controlled by corporate interests. From those who think there is
no inherent fairness to truth if truth favors one side of an argument. From those more interested in
repeating a story than
discovering what the story actually is. From those more
interested in circuses than bread, much less meat. From those who treat a
tiny minority as a major constituency. From those who
rolled over and showed their bellies and still consider themselves guard dogs.
I'm voting to take it back from the "patriots" who advocate tearing our country apart because they lost an election. From those who
want to secede. From those who think
guns are okay at political events but signs on sticks aren't. From those who encourage the disgruntled to be "
armed and dangerous." From those so scared of one amendment that they want to
use another against it. From those who would decide who is a "real" citizen
based on their own criteria.
I'm voting to take it back from the people who
despise the job they're applying to do. From those who want to do nothing more than
keep anything from being done. From those who are proud of their
lack of accomplishments. From those who, no matter what kind of crises we face, are determined to make "Government is the problem, not the solution" a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I'm voting to take it back from the bought-and-paid-for. From those who are
more concerned about those who pay for their advertising than for those who voted for them. From those who
help the powerful victimize the individual. From those who
shamelessly defend the indefensible.
I'm voting to take it back from the liars. From those who repeat the same lies over and over, not knowing or
not caring what they're saying as long as it
suits their ends. From those who
deflect responsibility for their allies' scandals and
their own behavior. From those who think truth is a matter of opinion. From those who
deny expertise when it doesn't tell them what they want to hear.
I'm voting to take it back from the sheer crazies. From the
2%-ers. From the
conspiracy theorists. From those
calling for the start of the apocalypse. From those who would normally be given the side-eye but are somehow being treated as though they had some kind of valuable input. From those who waste our time when we could be accomplishing something.
Tomorrow, I'm voting to take my country back from a movement that's been in place for most of my lifetime. This movement has tried, and largely succeeded, in reversing the liberal policies that brought our country some of our most prosperous decades. It has fought tooth and nail against the progress we've made in treating all our citizens as human beings. I don't intend to let it get any further. I intend to stop it now.
Won't you join me in taking this country back for all of us?