An Election Eve "Amen"

Update - 24 November 2023: Having examined the writings and worldview of many members of the Peak Oil/Collapse crowd which flourished from the middle of the first decade of the 21st century until 2016, I find that I must withdraw my agreement with many of the statements made by these people.  First, they all tended to predict that a zombie apocalypse was right around the corner - in many cases, only months away.  Ran Prieur (cited below) was one such writer.  Obviously, the zombie apocalypse has not come, and is not likely to be triggered by the decline of worldwide petroleum production.  As anyone can see, the use of renewable sources of electric energy has greatly expanded, with the result that prices of transportation fuel have begun to fall - even though supply remains tight.

The other problem with the prepper/collapse crowd is that so many of these people have turned out to be aligned with the Global Far Right and the aspirations of people such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.  One of the tactics of choice in which these people have engaged over the years is to try to convince us that in the United States, there is almost no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans as political agents.  While I'd be the first to admit that the Democratic Party is guilty of many failings, I am absolutely certain that the Democratic Party is not trying to create an American autocracy under a leader who is a criminal and malignant narcissist.  I also know that the Democratic Party is not threatening to build concentration camps in order to lock up immigrants and political prisoners on American soil.  And I know that the Democratic Party is not trying to bring back the days in which Mexican migrant children were forcibly ripped away from their parents and thrown into detention centers by U.S. Border Patrol agents.  In other words, I do not see the Democratic Party as the agent of an attempted revival and expansion of white supremacy.  On the other hand, the Republicans are guilty of all these things.  So I am retracting my original words written for this post.  The retracted words are indicated by strikeout text.  If I find any other posts which contain words which could potentially be seized upon and misused by the Global Far Right, I will post this disclaimer and retraction in those posts also.

I'm grading papers this weekend, so I may not have time for any kind of lengthy post. (I can't wait to get my life back to myself again!) But in taking a short break from grading (also known as goofing off), I came across a priceless gem from the website of Ran Prieur. Mr. Prieur is among the writers and thinkers whose work I read from time to time, although I must say that I don't agree with everything he says. (Some days, I don't necessarily agree with everything I say.)

I did, however, greatly enjoy the following quote:

"So we have an American election in a few days. A common argument against voting is that it trains you to think that working within the system is the best or only way to make a better world. My answer is: could you set the bar for yourself any lower? That's like not watching any commercials because then you won't be able to stop yourself from buying the product. If you don't think you can vote while keeping a healthy mental distance, now would be an excellent time to learn. Your vote is not a precious flower to be given only to the one you love; it is a cold tactical decision, and collectively, it does make a difference.

"You are in a giant building that's on fire. The Democratic party is saying, 'Yes, there was a small fire, but it's mostly under control now. We spent eleven cents on squirt guns and a trillion dollars building some higher floors. Remain calm and go about your business.'

"The Republican party is saying, 'You are in a giant building that's on FIRE! Those people are to blame, and those people, and those people! KILL them! Kill them ALL!! And to put out the fire, we will use gasoline, and white phosphorus! YEEEEEE-HAAAAAAA!!!!'

"Now, if you are trying to get safely out of the building, who would you rather have in charge?"

Amen.