The 2020 US election has proven a very divisive issue for many leftists and socialist-aligned individuals living in the US, and for good reason. While not a perfect candidate, Bernie Sanders' campaign (and to an extent Elizabeth Warren's) showed that there was potential in this country for the political Overton Window (the range of acceptable political discourse and thought within a country) to shift left, after enduring the harsh and reactionary presidencies of Donald Trump and formerly George Bush Jr. This chance at reform, this promise of hope, was squashed by the DNC, and everyone from progressives to socialists and communists were left in an unenviable position: the choice between two right wing candidates, and a seeming paralysis of the country's political discourse into a liberal-conservative binary (note that the usage of the term liberal here means a person with right wing economic views and left wing social views, the definition most commonly applied in countries that aren't the United States). There appeared no chance to fight against or even abolish the capitalistic hierarchies that cause millions in this country to suffer every year, and as such many leftists threw up their hands in frustration and resigned not to vote. If you are one of those who is still in this position less than a week away from election day, this is for you. Namely, I want to talk to you about the United State Supreme Court, and why the recent appointment of Amy Cohen Barrett should, if nothing else, be more than enough of a reason for you to vote for the Dems this year.

First, a few boundaries and issues of phrasing and framing need to be overcome. Firstly, we need to stop framing this debate in terms of optics, moral standing, and hypocrisy. There are many Republicans who blocked Obama's attempts to appoint a justice in 2016 because it was "too close to the election." These same politicians are the ones who confirmed Barrett. But fixating on this point is counter-productive and not the point––obsessing over optics doesn't serve anyone but an abstract "moral fiber" of our "character." The philosophical and moral victory in a debate will not stop people from dying. The time for theorizing is over and the time for action is now. This brings us to the second major point that needs to be emphasized: the Supreme Court is not, nor has it ever been, a democratic institution. The fact that several un-elected individuals, some of whom (Barrett falls under this category) barely have any experience in their field are able to have this much sway and power over the masses is not democratic, nor should we fool ourselves into thinking it is. These appointments are for life, they are not made by us, and often they will not serve our interests.

With this in mind, though, we still need to vote for Biden. Revolution and the abolition of undemocratic structures that come with it, such as the Court and the Senate, are far away. The state apparatus is too heavily armed and the population too politically divided and uneducated for any force significant enough to challenge Washington in a revolutionary way to emerge at this moment in time. For evidence of this, one only need look at the overwhelming force deployed against Black Lives Matters activists and protestors earlier this year to see how impossible this is at this moment in time. Right now we must at least understand the political structure of 21st Century US capital, and this includes the Court. The choice right now is whether we vote for someone who will make the situation worse, or potentially better. Don't believe what people in Washington tell you: the Court is not an apolitical agents, nor are its judges. Barrett serves Evangelical hardliner Christianity, she serves the Republican party and its corporate interests, and she serves Trump. With her appointment, everything is at risk: abortion rights, queer rights, the broken healthcare system we have, and voter rights could all be taken away. Biden has not ruled our stacking the Court, and we have no choice right now but to take his statement seriously. If not for yourself, vote for women who need access to safe contraceptives and sex education, vote for people who need healthcare and want to not have to worry about going bankrupt every time they see their doctor, vote for the thousands upon thousands of minorities who could be disenfranchised if voter ID and registration restrictions are introduced, and vote for our American gay and lesbian and trans and queer brothers and sisters and siblings who may soon have everything taken away.

So please, please, vote.