‘In These Times’ Makes a Poignant Point…

In an editorial, In These Times magazine (a left-leaning progressive/social democratic publication with the subtitle With Liberty and Justice for All) makes a point that all voters should take quietly to heart, no matter how long you’ve been publicly espousing your displeasure with both candidates for the presidency. (Your vote will be secret. You don’t have to shout it from a  mountaintop on November 9th.)

 

Reminding us that (I’m paraphrasing here) since too many breadwinners live paycheck to paycheck, In These Times proclaims that it behooves social justice voters to keep in mind that squandering your individual 2016 vote will only hurt the most vulnerable among us.

 

Here’s why In These Times implores you to think twice on humanitarian grounds:

 

For those earning minimum wage, who sits in the White House on January 21st, 2017 will determine whether the federal minimum wage is abolished (as Trump proposes and as GOP representatives would love to endorse) and whether it’s raised from $7.25 to $15/hour (as Clinton/Sanders propose, progressives endorse, and the party platform espouses).

 

You probably have friends, relatives and loved ones right now, today, who are trying to survive on minimum wage whose fates you will be sealing on the date you cast your vote for President.

 

Please think about that–hard–before you cast your vote.

 

Although there is little, if any, love lost between In These Times writers and Hillary Clinton, the editorial concludes, “On purely humanitarian terms, progressives must help ensure relief for vulnerable communities by voting for the candidate–yes, Hillary Clinton–who will embrace a minimum wage hike.”

 

But wait! There’s more! (And this is my editorial take on the matter…)

 

Who’s sitting in the White House will also determine the fate of women’s issues, minority issues, voting issues, immigration issues, climate change issues, health care issues, Medicare/Medicaid issues, advanced education cost issues, and lots of other vital issues.

 

The next sitting President will appoint multiple Supreme Court Justices, too.

 

If you’re sitting comfortably somewhere, assuming you’re out of harm’s way, thinking that your 2016 protest vote is going to punch the parties in their ugly noses and make them listen to the people next time around, you’re kidding yourself.

 

 

Right now the only major party that has expressed an interest in advancing your causes –and inscribed it into the most progressive party platform ever– is the (woefully imperfect) Democratic Party; the other major party is dedicated to destroying what you want to see happen.

 

Shouldn’t you at least consider doing what will serve the greatest number of our most vulnerable fellow citizens this year?

 

I hope you will.

 

I know to a dead certainty that your heart is in the right place.

 

Believe me, mine is right alongside yours.

 

So let’s do this for them! 

 

I, for one, simply couldn’t live with myself if I did anything less than my best to make sure the most vulnerable among us are protected from further deprivation and the predatory machinations of the greedy and seedy.