According to terminally-on-social-media people in the United States, politics is an easy choice. On the one hand, you have the racist fascists who will destroy democracy and bring in an evangelical theocracy. On the other, you have woke communists who want to destroy free speech and force children to medically transition in Kindergarten. It’s that easy, good guys vs. the bad guys, and it’s manifestly obvious who’s who.
In the case of the reelection of Donald Trump, I’ve seen a lot of liberals say that racism is the dividing line. If you voted for Kamala Harris, you’re good, but if you voted for Trump, you’re a racist. Easy peasey, no need to dig any deeper. Case closed.
On the surface, this kind of analysis feels right. I mean, just listen to the things Trump and his hardcore supporters say. It’s racism all the way down. A lot of the Republican platform is just pure spite that has notihing to do with advancing the lives of American citizens.
But that being true doesn’t magically make voting for a Democrat an easy choice. Trump and the Republicans being bad can’t make the Democrats’ position on Gaza and Israel morally correct. It doesn’t make their constant hard-on for war with China or Iran magically disappear. I don’t know that a regular person in Venezuela would take much comfort knowing the Democrats are the “better” choice after their country has been ravaged by years of economic warfare.
They say there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism, and there’s especially no ethical voting under American imperialism. It isn’t black or white, there are always tradeoffs if you choose to vote for one of the two major coalitions. No matter who you vote for you are always voting to continue the most destructive force in the world.
For a leftist, participating in the American voting system means being a hypocrite, to a certain extent, or it means voting against your own morals. Unless you’re ok with the horrors of unchecked capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism, and poisoning the planet, that is. And if you are, why are you reading this? Go vote Republican or Democrat and have a drink to drown out the cries of Palestinian children.