Do the Right Thing - Super Tuesday

Gandhi. Wellington Train Station, New Zealand

I asked my mother who she voted for in the Florida Primary and she proudly said, Hillary. And Dad I asked? Hillary she said. But we don't tell anyone she added. Mom and Dad, 80 and 85 years of age respectively, live in Florida where they find themselves in a minority. Keeping your mouth shut Mom says saves a lot of arguments. Everyone they know, those they play tennis with, play cards with, chat over the back fence with, and share an occasional meal with are all Republicans. Mom says: "It's a status thing they are proud of. It's prestigious to them. They think they are better than anyone else and only vote in ways that affect their own pocket and don't care about anyone else."

Mom's analysis of Republicans sounds as good as any I've heard by political experts. Thinking about our conversation while being here in Wellington, New Zealand, on Super Tuesday (actually it's Wednesday morning here since we are 18 hours ahead of US time) I am proud of both my parents.

I remember eight years ago when many friends and political analysts said we had to vote for the Democrat who could win and not THROW away our vote. This irritated me and I had many discussions about this issue. (Because my vote was going to Nader). Friends were angry with me. But I believed I had to do the right thing since both the Republicans and Democrats were in the same corporate bed. We had to vote independent. Bush won two elections by bulldozing people down with terrorist rhetoric instilling fear into the hearts of the people. What if all the people including independents and democrats had done the right thing and voted independent? Isn't doing the right thing how we create change? We could have had a political revolution if people had voted for the right 'person' rather than throwing their vote away by voting against Bush.

This is not hindsight saying, "if only we knew...." No. Most people believed they were voting the right way and people like me were throwing the vote away. They are wrong of course. No matter the consequences, we must not believe others, we must not believe what polls say, we must not be persuaded by anyone else. We must always do the right thing. We have a conscious. It is our responsibility as citizens of the US to look at people's records and vote for the right person, who will represent ALL the people, not just 'our own pocket' as Mom says. Voting against someone is throwing the vote away. Not the other way around.

This voting against rather than for has now come to a new level we could never predict four years ago. A woman and a black man! I suspect that racism and sexism will be so strong come November, that no matter who gets the Democratic nomination, the people of the US will vote AGAINST women and blacks both. No one will have to steal the election this time. If we admire people who do the right thing, who make sacrifices for the good of others, can't we do the same? What is the alternative? There is talk of a recession. I remember the Detroit riots of 1967. I was there. So were Mom and Dad.