Your Vote: Democracy or Dictatorship

By FRANK LINGO

The presidential election of 2020 is not a Democratic candidate against a Republican candidate. It’s democracy against dictatorship.

The election is not about liberal ideas versus conservative ideas. It’s about one man’s respect for the American co-equal system of legislative, executive and judicial branches versus the cult of one man trying to gain dictatorial powers in violation of the Constitution.

The election is about words. We should understand the impact of rhetoric. Hitler and Mussolini rose to dictatorial powers mostly by riling up the German and Italian public with inflammatory speeches. Our current Con-mander-in-Chief has taken their fascist playbooks and adapted them effectively for the 21st century. The tactics still include fomenting hate by scapegoating ethnic groups, condoning violence, and sowing distrust of the press.

The election is not about a difference of opinion between candidates on how to handle a health crisis. It’s a matter of life and death. It’s a president brazenly lying to the country about the Corona virus, spreading disinformation when he knew the true dangers. Those lies resulted in world-leading numbers of American deaths.

The election is not about one approach to foreign policy against a contrasting policy. It’s about patriotism versus treason. It’s about one candidate recognizing the threat Russia presents to the United States versus another candidate dismissing US intelligence on Russian interference, while sucking up to the Russian dictator.

The election is not about differing styles in how a commander-in-chief manages our armed forces in their many dangerous entanglements around the world. It is about a man whose son served honorably in America’s military versus a man who knew the Russians put a cash bounty on the lives of American troops and did nothing to stop it.

The election is not about law and order in our streets versus protests and riots. It’s about whether the police protect our First Amendment right of freedom of assembly, while containing the small number of looters, or whether the police and hired mercenaries attack those exercising the right to assemble. It’s about Black Lives Matter against white privilege.

The election is not about a liberal immigration policy against a conservative policy. It’s about allowing those seeking asylum to have a fair hearing versus incarcerating vast numbers of asylum seekers without legal recourse, and including tearing children from their mothers’ arms and then shipping them far away with no record of their parents’ identity.

The election is not about loyalty to one’s party as most elections are. It’s about loyalty to one’s country. When a president undermines the institutions of the country to further his own powers far beyond the scope of the presidency, it shreds the fabric of our union.

The election is about the past versus the future. The allegedly great past was when the rights of people of color and women were often trampled. The future is about working to defend the rights of everyone. That when America will truly be great.

Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote,” Read a free excerpt at EarthVote.world. Email: lingofrank@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, October 15, 2020

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