“Since the people invested government with its authority, we understood that we had to obey the law. But when law became suppressive and tyrannical, when human law violated divine principles, we felt it was not only our right, but our duty to disobey.” – John Lewis

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As for the president

I’ve pondered my opinions towards voting and the role of the “commander-in-chief.” I couldn’t come up with a simple answer without laughing first and then getting extremely angry over how reckless we allow our government to be. I say allow in the sense that a large portion of the collective is still willing to bargain for their rights. This cycle the phrase “lesser of two evils” rests upon the shoulders of people trying to do their civic duty. After all, how dare we abstain from voting when both of our supposed options are bad, we have to suck it up to save democracy. In these attitudes people have developed towards voting the language we use tends to obscure the actual issue within our electoral system. Evil is evil, but it isn’t omnipotent, through the sacrifice of the people resisting its oppresses it becomes powerless. Voting is much more than the physical process; one truly must make a conscious choice to endorse, fund, or defend the actions that follow the ballot.

“In terms of our elected officials, I think we need to ask…: How far should we go with our need to know before we completely veer off into the personal and the private and leave behind any chance of having a legitimate debate or discussion or discourse about the issues at hand?” – John Lewis

The implication is that we will be represented and protected from social ills, to achieve the American dream. The candidate that you helped win has the power to grant you “freedom” though you’ll be sacrificing someone else for it in the process.

A commitment to democracy exposes how normal imposing suffering on others to delay its impending reach to you has become. The individual interest of protecting what little rights you have left, the president works with states to erase marginalized communities’ rights. I’m mad because voting when used as a weaponized against the youth and Black people lacks any critical assessment of where sacrifices will come from. Why are we expected to have any hope in figureheads of white supremacy and the rules of fascism? Collective members with a mask adverting their eyes to Americanism face the same threat as those with their eyes open.

“We are involved now in a serious revolution. This nation is still a place of cheap political leaders who build their careers on immoral compromises and ally themselves with open forms of political, economic and social exploitation.” – John Lewis

The mask of democracy unfailingly broke during the presidential debate, causing panic and embarrassment. Anyone unphased by the illusion of voting felt embarrassed and the panicked jumped to defend their last hope at exceptionalism. I don’t underestimate the power of a good illusion since we all have believed in one in some form. The pervasiveness of fascism renders some stuck in the nostalgia of the Post Civil Rights Movement and Obama-esque voter respectability. During these periods voting was crucial since an acceptable standard for material improvement was set. Original victors of these historical achievements have expressed repeatedly that it doesn’t matter who is president, imperialism and colonialism will supersede the well-being of citizens.

“even though the truth can’t be denied or erased, it can be systemically obscured, strategically misinterpreted, and hidden from mainstream comprehension.” – John Lewis

Your candidate thrives when you are crushed under the pressure of these systems. Both president-elects debated over the genocide of Palestinians, if women have a right to make medical decisions for themselves, and golf. The president, no matter whose name and number is attached to it, is a threat. We must be critical of blindly casting our ballots since it’s what we’re supposed to do and pay attention to the current consequences of them stripping away our rights. Voting is easy when money, supremacy, and repressive tactics aren’t clouding it. We owe no loyalty or pawnship to a government that refuses to listen to us.

Voting is… Debatable

Believe it or not, people should and will criticize your choice, voter preferences, and participation. I’m not saying they’ll do it right every time but you aren’t making a singular decision, you owe your community. Respectively the former actions of both Biden and Trump made it easier to imagine the outcome. Trump is Trump meaning his behavior was abysmal but expected. Joe Biden on the other hand has undegone different political eras but lately he’s known under the moniker, “Genocide Joe” or “Dark Brandon.” Every two minutes each opened their mouth to say the foulest thing you’ve heard without actually saying anything critical at all. Aside from the showcase of political theater the imperial and racist statements should be highlighted.

“There was a time when politicians needed to be great orators because the people themselves were grappling with the challenges of conscience, trying to perceive what is “right” and what is “wrong.” But today, not only do we miss the eloquence of public speaking, but the moral compass of so many leaders seems to be skewed.” – John Lewis

Biden and Trump left the debate unscathed by any of the remarks they made while millions realized the absurdness of white supremacy. The allegiance the president and willing voters have to uphold wealth and power contradicts the founding principles dictated by this nation. Voters feel alienated by vocal allegiance to whiteness, indiscriminate suffering, and disregard for our humanity. The uncommitted and abstaining voters have absorbed the misplaced anger stemming from the individualistic fear of collective resistance impacting their individuals rights. Avid voters want to police the options of voting since change is a seemingly hopeless position. Voting has always been debatable in the most literal sense. I think it’s obtuse to berate third-party options and scoff at the thought of them “winning” even though voting is about choice. Operating outside of the two-party binary is somehow unserious and damaging but not the system itself benefiting from global domination.

The system needs to be dismantled but we cannot ignore the groups fighting for reform strategically obstructed by the government. It’s time to recognize it’s not our job to save democracy, we have to save each other from the destructive forces that drive it.

Who wins the debate?

The underrepresented populations of people such as those in man-made poverty will inexplicably be the so-called losers. Voting conditions itself as a privilege to those who are generally educated, housed, organized, or have access to polling locations. Nowhere in the conditions or conversation do avid voters consider how this fuels disillusionment, the most vulnerable must fall in line or suffer under policy failure. If the preferred candidate of eligible voters doesn’t win a scapegoat emerges in the form of abstainers or skeptics. The truth is voters have held up their end of the bargain with few positive changes to their lives. Are we to ignore the valid criticisms of voters that want to hold candidates accountable? The majority opinion of the working class, formerly incarcerated and socially outcasted largely feel ignored to advance whatever status quo needs to be met in the election cycle. The true question is how many election cycles will representatives on either side undermine while peddling the message that democracy is functioning.

I know this probably sounds like useless complaining but truly what are we voting for, when we spread democracy ourselves what does that entail? I like many people my age who have participated in voter engagement, civic learning, and poll work, I even worked on Capitol Hill. I contributed my first vote ever to the democratic party and advised others to join me, not understanding the full scope of how deep complacency is within voting. I attended one of the greatest HBCUs, reminded that ordinary students that fought for our right to vote on campus. A younger me hoped to join these titans in preparing our community to make the most informed decision they could. That’s the thing about voting: its challenges make it aspirational and seemingly limitless until someone voters disagree with its place in society. My peers weren’t voting in any capacity, especially not in a local setting where candidates appeared after they decided your vote mattered. I opposed this hands-off approach until it dawned on me that policing their voting habits did not make my decision to follow the rules any more valid. I stuck my “I voted” sticker on the back of my laptop then attended classes where we proceeded to discuss the fancy ways democracy regresses. In my privileged status, I could somehow educate on the importance of voting and then explain why the Supreme Court is a conundrum. Logically, someone has to be blamed for underfunding the university, Prairie View needing accessible polling location, and the DEI ban which begs the question, how can this be the students fault?

“The only reason unjust systems exist is that the masses of people silently give their consent and believe these systems are necessary—whether for their security or survival.” – John Lewis

We spend too much time trying to justify why voters and their representatives cannot overcome suppressive policies rather than refusing to allow them at all. I grew tired of contradicting myself acknowledging the historical bloodshed we endured unnecessarily then casting the name of some who could easily change all that. How could I ever forget about the literacy test or poll officials throwing away Black ballots, why because that happened in the past? It doesn’t and won’t ever make me more patriotic since voting is not something I wish to hold above people’s heads. I’m not going to disrespect anyone who continues to mobilize their communities towards change through voting. We shouldn’t reduce this power to Black or white thinking. Voting does work however I nor you should have to do the bidding of imperialists. To put it in simpler terms, until we the collective have access but not limited to healthcare, the freedom to choose and live as whatever identity we desire in a world truly free of anti-blackness, there is no winner. You have the freedom to use the ballot however you want, but you have to understand it is not always a just decision.