Thursday, January 26, 2017

The way our government is organized by the Constitution makes two, not three or more (or no) political parties inevitable. If you don't like the choice between the Dems and the GOP, your only alternative is to replace one of them, but if the Greens or the Socialists or whatever fringe party was going to replace one of them, there would be signs of real progress towards that end. There isn't. So for the foreseeable future you have two choices and one of those is fascist and one isn't. Which means you have no choice at all. You don't have to like it, but you better learn to accept it.

Which means, first of all, no Independents. Pick a fucking side: are you pro or anti fascist? Those are the choices so make a damn decision. If you are anti-fascist thn register as a Dem. We don't have the margin of error for the affectation of voting for the Dems while pretending to be above them. Before he let his ego get in the way and helped give us Trump by baselessly attacking HRC's character for months after it was clear she was going to be the nominee, Bernie actually did help move the Dems left. But he did it during the brief period he acted like an adult and registered as a Dem.

Next, vote party, not person. The quality of individual Dems is far less important than their numbers. ANY Dem is better than ANY alternative. Yes, we want better Dems as well as more Dems, but that's what  primaries are for, and if your better Dem loses in the primary, swallow your pride and vote for the winner anyway. The alternative isn't  a red Revolution but a brown one. Look at the KPD in Germany in the 30s and don't make the same deadly mistake.

Finally, you aren't a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of the United States. We live in a world of nation states whether you like it or not. If you don't want to be a US citizen, move elsewhere. While you are here, you can't expect pols to put the interests of the Palestinians (or the Israelis) or the people of Tibet or Central America ahead of those of the US. What you CAN expect is that they will take into account the interests of the rest of the world (our allies ahead of those who wish us harm) because pols who don't recognize the need for enlightened national self-interest abroad are  not patriots, but nationalists. The two are not the same, as the Trump government will demonstrate daily for the next four years.

Oh, and if you are someone still going around saying Love Trumps Hate, it often doesn't. And Nazis would have wiped the non-violent resistance movements of the 20th Century off the face of the earth with not a moment's hesitation, leaving not a trace behind. Non-violence doesn't work against those who worship Might as the ultimate good. Which is not to say I'm advocating trading politics for violence against the American Fascist Party (formerly known as the GOP). We aren't without better alternatives and anyway, in a civil war we might well lose.

Otoh, punching Nazis is ethically justified, so you just have to decide if the opportunity arises if it is the smart thing to do.

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