Can You Hear Me Now

America’s democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. To guard it, and never take it for granted and protecting our democracy takes struggle. It takes sacrifice. But there is joy in it. And there is progress. Because we the people have the power to build a better future.

Kamala Harris

I have lived through many monumental moments — the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., the Apollo moon landings, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, The Cuban Missile Crisis, the giving and taking of a woman’s right to choose, the resignation of Richard Nixon, the creation and wide-scale adoption of the Internet, and now, Joe Biden dropping out of a presidential campaign with a little more than 100 days before the election.

I like President Biden and have been generally happy with his three and three quarters years in the White House. He accomplished much despite incredible political, economic, social, and global headwinds. We have low unemployment, a thriving economy, and are not at war. I didn’t always see eye-to-eye on everything he did (I continue to hope that he takes a stronger stance against the war in Gaza), but no politician has ever met all my expectations and wishes. He was often a centrist when I wanted a stronger progressive voice, but with many things in life, I measure what we have against what we might have. He was a good alternative to the worst of American politics.

I turned 18 in 1976 and since then I’ve never missed an election — no matter how seemingly unimportant one might feel. While quite a few of my chosen candidates fizzled at the box office, many have not. Win or lose, though, I look upon the right to vote as a sacred task and it’s not something I will ever squander or take for granted.

That Vote Was Mine

It was a vote to say “no” to the politics of hatred and division
It was a vote to prove we are still a land of opportunity and dreams
It was a vote to bring together all peoples of peace and justice
It was a vote to say “yes” to the future
It was a vote to bring hope to our children
It was a vote to say that all people matter regardless of age, gender, identity, or race
It was a vote to say “yes” to inclusion
It was a vote to prove that democracy is still alive
It was a vote of strength
It was a vote of confidence
It was a vote of courage
It was a vote of love
It was a vote to shout out the audacity of hope and the fierce urgency of now

And that vote was mine

Photograph by Andrew Prokop ©2011

I wrote the above poem shortly after the 2008 election of Barak Obama and it still sums up why I show up at the polls year after year. I want safe streets and a growing economy, but more than that, I want hope, justice, peace, inclusion, and love. I want to live in a country:

• Where everyone is safe to express and live their gender identity and sexual orientation.
• Whose policies allow for free and fair elections. No more jerrymandering and voter suppression!
• Where women are trusted to make decisions about their bodies.
• That believes in science.
• That doesn’t think that diversity and making a place at the table for different voices are bad things.
• Where children don’t fear being gunned down at school.
• That believes that the earth is fragile and needs protection.
• That isn’t afraid to face its failures while celebrating its successes.
• That respects and cares for the least fortunate of us.
• That prizes people over corporations.
• That prioritizes public education.
• That promotes access to quality healthcare for everyone.
• Where politicians make hard decisions regardless of how they affect their next election.
• That is based on principles and not religious ideology.
• That recognizes that the United States and its peoples have evolved since 1789.

Are these extravagant wishes? Perhaps, but I believe in miracles and owning up to the responsibility of making them come true.

Victory is given to those who show up and there is no way I am going to sit this election out. I feel now as I did back in 2008 — energized and filled with hope. I invite you to lead with love and stand with me on the right side of history.

Is it the loud man bravado that takes you to bed
his fawning and his deceit
does he grab and does he fondle
like a blood stained butcher skinning a cow

Is it the anger you bring into your house to fuck you senseless
shedding all self-respect and sense

Is it his swagger and his bluster
or is it you
deep in retreat and denial