Our Present:

Chapter 9: Vote for Victory

Voting is the Salve for a Strained Democracy

VOTE for
X--Victory Over Tyrannical Entropy--X
Y--Valiant Ongoing Tenacious Emancipation--Y
Z--Vaccine of Optimism to Treat Enmity--Z


Disenfranchised back there. Accepted here.

Here, I hide, fake, deny nothing, nor lie.

Here, I am my authentic, true, ‘Self;’

Here, this place, my people ‘n me,

Yields real strength ‘n endurance.

Here, with the Seerz, I am me.

Half, at last.


Give us the ballot … The denial of this sacred right

is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandate

of our democratic tradition.

And so our most urgent request to the 

president of the United States and every member of Congress

is to give us the right to vote.

–Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968. (A)


Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by

every American mother, to the lisping babe,

that prattles in her lap — let it be taught in

schools, in seminaries, and in colleges;

let it be written in Primmers, spelling books, and

in Almanacs, let it be preached from the pulpit,

proclaimed in legislative halls, and,

enforced in courts of justice.

–Abraham Lincoln. 1809-1865. (A)  

 

Here, everyone’s needs are met.

We govern ourselves in open forum.

We vote by closing our eyes and hum ‘Nay,’

or, we widen them to say, ‘Yea,’

and really hummmmmmm.

 

Back there, 

as greedy lobbying grew,

voting sadly diminished in value;

cunning clever conniving

corrupt double-crosses

crushed us.


Here, 

we exercise

our vote to answer

the pressing social question: Who Are We?


I consider it completely unimportant who in

the party will vote, or how; but what is 

extrordinarily important is this

–who will count the votes, and how.

–Boris Bazhanov, Stalin’s secretary. 1923.


So came the Seventh Gift:


Our Joy in Voting


The future of this republic is in the 

hands of the American voter.

–Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1890-1969.


All I want is the same thing you want.

To have a nation with a government that is as

good and honest and decent and competent

and compassionate and as filled with love

as are the American people.

–Jimmy Carter. 1924-2024.

 

Accept–Celebrate–Affirm

‘n Proclaim Our Values,

both internally and externally.

 

We must not surrender our future

to the enforcers of social injustice.

Devouring cult ‘n its fearful minions

long ago abandoned inclusive kindness

for a diminishing false sense of security;

they value the preservation of a failing system

over faith in an evolving one reaching to protect all,

over the succulent system of equity providing for all.


Inversion of Priorities:

When the preservation of the status-quo

becomes more important than 

the celebration of life,

we exist within

an inversion of values,

where everyone chokes

due to the lack of oxygen.


We must fulfill our civic duty;

We must tend to our democracy;

We must stand strong ‘n long;

We must tune its mechanics, regularly;

We must advance our experiment.

We must advance our bridge

to the better world of our dreams,

for the greater good ‘n for all to cross.

–Eazy-Peazy, right?


In this increasingly interconnected world,

we must understand that what happens to poor people

is never divorced from the actions of the powerful.

Certainly, people who define themselves as poor may 

control their own destinies to some extent. 

But control of lives is related to control of land, 

systems of production, and the formal political 

and legal structures in which lives are enmeshed.

With time, both wealth and control 

have become increaseingly

concentrated in the hands of a few. 

The opposite trend is desired

by those working for social justice.

–Paul Farmer. 1959-2022.


It is not enough to just want change …

You have to go make change by voting.

–Taylor Swift. Born 1989.


Someone struggled for your right to vote.

Use it.

–Susan B. Anthony. 1820-1906.

Make your vital contribution–Vote!

Together, we will achieve

what we could not, alone:

Heal society as we evolve

all six life-care services for all:

Justice--Education--Sustenance--Shelter--Healthcare--Protection
All Six--for--All People
Peace is the Apex of our Politics


When we vote, we express our values,

we acknowledge our nation

is an evolving process,

not a static preserve 

of status-quo.


When we vote, we affirm our identity,

we honor those who made critical 

contributions to the four-hundred-year 

advancement of our perception and practice 

of democracy. 


We benefited

tremendously

from their tenacious

advocacy and sacrifices.


There must exist a paradigm, a practical

model for social change that includes an

understanding of ways to transform

consciousness that are linked to 

transform structure.

–bell hooks. 1921-2021. 


The republic is the only form of

government which is not eternally at

open or secret war with the rights of mankind.

–Thomas Jefferson. 1743-1826.


We all have to vote like our lives and the 

world depend on it, because they do.

The only way to be certain of the future

is to make it ourselves.

–Billie Eilish. Born 2001.


They matter.

Now go make

your genuine, colorful 

contribution.

Vote–for goodness sake.


We must prevail over unjust doctrines

‘n institutionalized terrors.

We must celebrate the intersectional,

‘n rejoice in the Creator’s

Modulation in the alleles,

melanin-induced brown ‘n blacks,

eumelanin-induced blonde ‘n browns

pheomelanin-induced yellow, pink ‘n reds,

the Creator’s finest, most breath-taking brushstrokes.


We must never remain silent in the face of bigotry.

We must condemn those who seek to divide us.

In all quarters and at all times,

we must teach tolerance and denounce

racism, anti-Semitism and all ethnic or

religious bigotry wherever they exist as 

unacceptable evils. We have no place for

haters in America–none whatsoever.

–Ronald Regan. 1911-2004.


I’m really interested in social justice, and if

an artist has a certain power of being heard

and voicing something important, it’s right

to do it. It could still be done in such a way

that it’s not aggressive or overly didactic.

I’m trying to find that form.

–Shirin Heshat. Born 1957.


We must build, draw, move, paint, share and tell

with the Creator’s Creyolas

The colors of our

hard work, pride, pain, and joy

are our mutual bonds with one another,

and collective covenant with our Creator.

Join us and be the Colour Guard of Wazizwilbi.


After you vote, advise

your elected representative

to employ the pressing,

operative directive:

negotiate ‘n compromise.


There is too much at stake for us to

surrender to the politics of polarization.

–Brad Henry. Born 1963. 


Anything that keeps a politician humble 

is health for democracy.

–Irish Blessing.


The ballet is stronger than the bullet.

–Abraham Lincoln. 1809-1865. (A)


It is time to vote. Ah-Oh,

I do not like the sound of this humming.

I grew restless, then felt nervous.


Gates open slowly, just enough for one to pass.

Now, I don’t bolt for my escape.

I do not want to leave.

I want to stay.

Chapter 10, Strive to Thrive