On Tuesday November 8th, 2016 I cast my ballot for the Green Party ticket: Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. This was not done out of protest or emotional impulse, rather out of the realization that a legitimate and progressive platform was the antidote to the far right extremism of the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. I had not intended to make this vote at the beginning of 2016. Back then, it was very apparent that a Bernie Sanders nomination as the Democratic choice for president would've been more than sufficient for the Democrats to supersede the Republicans and crush Trump in the election. But when the DNC and Clinton campaign colluded to undermine the Sanders campaign, resulting in a Clinton victory; the probability of such a victory all but disappeared. It was very apparent at the get-go that the centrism of the Clinton campaign was equal in ideology to a moderate Republican. As any basic philosophical analysis would show, moderate republicanism (mostly made up of center and right wing policies) was incapable of defeating an extreme far right Republican (made up of the furthest right wing and conservative ideals). Thus, I was left with the only option of placing a vote for the Jill Stein of the Green Party. As truth be told, much of the population had their minds stuck in a bubble which perpetuated an unphilosophical illusion; convincing themselves that centrism can defeat far right extremism. This theory was unfortunately confirmed with the recent confirmation of president-elect Donald Trump.
The symptom of Trump and his supporters will not disappear from an election or change of administration. They exist as a cultural hallucination, a delusion separate from reality, similar to the previously mentioned illusion beheld by Clinton supporters; but to a much higher degree. An antidote is required to make obsolete that delusion; one that actually lives up to the claims of advancing civilization for everyone. The United States is a Union of States. It is time to become a Union of Peoples. The Green Party platform made it abundantly clear that their goals were for everyone's benefits. Whether it was abolishing student loan debt to free up the entire millennial and previous generations, The green new deal to revolutionize our infrastructure into 100% renewable energy, or addressing climate change as a national security emergency. The Green New Deal being pressed by the Green party would have eliminated the grievances that drew so many to vote for Trump.The Green Party's and Stein campaign's very existence served as a contingency plan for either a Trump or Clinton victory. The errors and mistakes of the Clinton campaign would have existed even with a victory. Those mistakes and errors now must be fully recognized and addressed if Democrats are to prevent such a defeat again. The republicans may control the branches of government, but the illusion of control is very apparent. The haphazard coalition unified under Trump was factioned from the beginning. With a legitimate opposition that lives up to its principles, that haphazard coalition will crumble rapidly.
We must not be caught in gloom and despair. The remaining time we have until the inauguration in January must be spent organizing as efficiently as possible. We must ensure the multicultural, unionist, egalitarian, intellectual, and philosophical roots of the United States remains preserved and continues to grow. With the climate crisis reaching a peak, regression of civilization is intolerable. I leave you with the post election statements of Green Party nominee Jill Stein and her vice president candidate Ajamu Baraka:
Jill Stein:
“We do not consent to empire. We do not consent to racism. We do not consent to austerity. We do not consent to the prison industrial complex or a security state. We do not consent to a generation locked in debt. We do not consent to destruction of our climate, our environment or the basic premise of racial justice. We call for peaceful, nonviolent revolution by the ordinary people…”
Ajamu Baraka:
“We stand in solidarity with the communities that have suffered from harassment, voter suppression, and now the trauma of a Donald Trump victory and what it represents. The only answer to right-wing extremism is to build alternative power; a principled and strong movement that expresses and agitates for the needs of the American people.”
