HERE’S A LITTLE MUSIC with confrontational soul. Here’s a little textual feeling taking a confrontational role. Hearing about a silver spoon in the mouth at birth and privilege I begin thinking about how it infects thinking and how it infects all our thinking potentially. Which leads me to thinking about those choosing to vote third party right now, or who are still “Undecided.”
NOT THE USUAL UMX FARE, this tune was recorded the year I was born, and I heard it by “accident” this mornin. Though I’ve been hearing it most of my life (if not all), the feeling struck me all over again. I used to listen to CCR a bunch when I was about 17-20 or so, and of course they spring from the era and culture of my early childhood. I am reminded how much I love John Fogerty’s voice and energy…it reminds me of Kurt Cobain’s and John Lennon’s, too—when he scrapes it out of his belly for certain songs. It’s an all out projection of soul juice. Full force and utterly sincere. It’s not not a Joan Baez tonality (another amazing voice), it’s an Otis Redding flavor, the kind that bangs on your chest in that one part of Try a Little Tenderness. It’s a Janis Joplin hue. It gets down into your bones if you let it. And the theme seems to ring out even today, so I send this one straight into the karmicosmological mailboxes of Johnny McCain and George W. Bush or their friends, if they wanna pass it on. Maybe, baby, it’s you, cuz it ain’t me!
Thinking about a silver spoon in the mouth at birth and privilege and how it infects thinking and how it infects all our thinking potentially (some more than others), I once again muse on (oh what a lofty activity “musing” seems) those choosing to vote third party right now, or who(m) are still “undecided.” First off, I’m not going to pronounce them something evil, or condemn them outright, but I’ve been thinking, as have some blogmigos like Kevin, for one, along similar lines. Of how important this particular moment and divide is. And perhaps it began when I watched the Noam Chomsky video on third party votes among other topics related to this election and time. In which he said something about casting safe, self-congralutory, idealist votes in a swing state meant that you were assuming the burden to fall on others to make the change you earnestly hoped for*. And then the feelings within me further branched out and deeper, perhaps, when I read this Robert Parry article:
The ethical problem with this voting argument is that it foists off on other voters the responsibility of stopping the candidate regarded as a disaster.
It assumes that other voters – who also may have qualms about the lesser-evil major-party candidate – will do the dirty work, voting for that imperfect candidate to stop the truly dangerous one.
So, the voter who casts a ballot for his favorite — even if that vote may contribute to the election of the dangerous candidate — may feel the satisfaction of fulfilling his/her political principles. But the vote also could be viewed as an exercise in elitism, of valuing one’s own purity over the duty, which is left to other folks, to stop the dangerous candidate.
And then ayer, the thoughts cycled up again when I read a post where someone was throwing a drama party on their mostly Obamaphobic blog about “O, woe, I haven’t checked off the top box on my ballot yet because I still heart Hillary and Obama stands for everything bad” or something. And I thought about…being terribly removed and casual and intellectual and selfish about the power of a vote. This is such a stark divide. Given the OOD, there remains an irrefutable difference in the two choices, the only two that have a chance now. Remember how many others will be affected should the wrong choice be made. It’s not all about my Perfect World, it’s about the one we live in. At least that’s how I see it right now. Some of my friends may disagree, as they are (also) some idealistic gente, and I love them for it, and I still will after the election. I’m just thinking out loud here.
What do you think?
*Nota: I voted for Nader in 2000, living in NYC.
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I have no preponderance of evidence. I can’t see into the hearts of the candidates and r-e-a-l-l-y know. All I have is the gut feeling that should Obama win, fewer people will die. THAT is good enough for me and I can think of no “grand gesture” that trumps that vote.
Nezua, you and Cero may be right about this. It pains me in many ways. I can’t shake the impression that it is so only because we have allowed it, but allow it we have, and now this is it. There really is no other choice than between the two major party candidates.
So WHY is the one guy I can really get behind without reservation always one of those “third party” guys?
Interesting reading lately of Naomi Wolf’s newest tome, which makes it pretty clear how difficult, if not impossible, it is to run for [ANY] office if you’re not “in” with the Rs or the Ds. Which makes me think that if we don’t change this, it will ALWAYS be a choosing of the lesser of evils.
What kind of real choice is that?
In the end, on Tuesday I’ll likely vote for Obama as the less scary guy. Still, I would like to have heard him once say that when he’s President our phone conversations will no longer be listened to, our e-mails will be private, we won’t do mass roundup raids and incarcerate the undocumented, we’ll close Guantanamo and won’t torture - anyone - anywhere.
There are a lot of things that I’d like to have heard. But haven’t. And I don’t expect now to hear them. And that is extraordinarily sad.
I’ve always been partial to “Bad Moon Rising”
But thanks for the post. I don’t know anyone admitting to voting 3rd party in my real life friends, but I have seen many online who talk about voting 3rd party. You have helped me articulate my argument against it.
well i am for, principle before personality. i also think obama stands on his own merit, and is not necessarily an evil here (as in lesser evil). i think he has integrity - even if he is not, (even close to) comprehensive of my own personal views.
yes, we the people are who are responsible to change the 2 party monopoly, but it has to be an on going active process, starting now for the next elections - after the one on tuesday. a third party will not succeed the day of the elections…only in the vote, but in the precedent of the efforts for it’s platform made before election day.
the vote is a call for a common sense action, for the better of outcomes, that we are all responsible for. voting is not necessarily a time for self righteousness, but for what is righteous - so i will vote for obama.
thats my 2 cents and worth about that, but thanks for asking what my thoughts are, and especially, thanks for the post, it’s taken me to the memories of times deep in feel, rocking the bones of my being. 
(i’ve been hanging on youtube with ccr and john fogerty while i type this…soul nice)
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I don’t regret it because in neither case did *my* vote put the Republicans in. But I had also been massively heckled for voting Democratic in earlier elections as opposed to third party, so partly I was guilt tripped or something.
But now my theory is much more solidified. Third parties are cool in local elections, any time they have a real chance of winning. But these third party Presidential campaigns are shots in the dark and that is why they are not strategically a good idea. It is much better to put energy toward pushing Left the one who *does* get elected, or doing other grass roots types of work.