Why I Plan on Voting for Kerry and Opposing Him When He Wins\r\nAuthor: <\/i>Gnat<\/i>\r\n<\/p>
The American ruling class must be peeing its pants for joy this election\r\nseason. On the right we have a foaming-at-the-mouth fascist ready to\r\nlaunch the world into war, war and more war and on the \"left\" we have\r\na kinder-and-gentler fascist willing to fight these pathetic wars and \"do a\r\nbetter job at it\" than the fascist on the right. What a choice for\r\nthose of us who despise fascism and see Kerry for what he is - a different\r\nflavor of ruthless war criminal (read about his actions in combat during the\r\nVietnam war)! Best yet, for the warmongers, he intends to suck up to the\r\nLikud even more than Bush does (and who thought that possible?).<\/b><\/p>\r\n
A look back over history will show you that some of our worst war mongers\r\nhave been Democrats and it looks like things haven't changed much. Even\r\nClinton bombed Belgrade when Belgrade had committed no offense against the US\r\n(not to mention, Clinton's \"brilliant\" bombing of an medicinal factory\r\nin the Sudan). In fact, Republicans have tended to be the lesser of the\r\ntwo evils with regard to war, historically - the current president being an\r\nexception.<\/b><\/p>\r\n
I do not support these wars and I will continue to oppose them no matter who\r\nwins the next elections. However, there is a difference in our choices\r\nwith respect to domestic politics and I believe that difference is the key to\r\nchanging our direction with regard to our current campaign of war crimes and\r\natrocities against humanity. If Bush wins, we can expect a megalomaniac,\r\nprofoundly psychotic and delusional, to run further amuck, this time without\r\nconcern for the next round of elections. If Kerry wins, we can expect a\r\nspoiled but sane man to do his best to serve the ruling class in its drive\r\ntowards war and conquest. The primary difference lies in the mental\r\ncondition and the susceptibility to pressure from the left of the\r\ntwo. Kerry is less likely to launch a nuclear war than Bush. Kerry\r\nis less likely to engage in the systematic violation of basic rights than\r\nBush. However, just as importantly, Kerry needs to worry about being\r\nreelected while Bush does not.<\/b><\/p>\r\n
For those of you fantasizing about a third party candidate coming into\r\noffice, I am sorry to inform you that you will not live in a democracy until you\r\neither leave the country or have a revolution. The system is rigged and it\r\nis Bush or Kerry - NO MATTER WHAT YOU WANT. Since a revolution before the\r\nend of the year is highly unlikely, I suggest you add to your schedule a few\r\nminutes to pass a vote for Kerry in November while making other plans. In no case do I suggest you waste your time campaigning for Kerry,\r\nholding a sign for Kerry or putting an ounce of your faith in him. The\r\nDemocratic Party is not the solution, it's just a banana peel on the road to\r\ndestruction, upon which a short time slipping on the banana peel might delay\r\narriving at the final solution long enough to figure out how to find (or make)\r\nan exit ramp.<\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\nI've seen it argued that four more years of Bush would help the class struggle\r\nby making more people aware of the true relationship between the ruling class\r\nand the working class. In this scenario, an increasingly miserable and\r\noppressive existence under the fascist regime of Bush would provoke rebellion or\r\ninsurrection, resulting, perhaps, in the overthrow of the government. \r\nWhile I certainly would like to see government swept away, I do not believe in\r\nsudden revolutions any more than I believe in fairy god mothers. No\r\nrevolution has ever succeeded for which a cultural revolution did not already\r\npave the way. Revolutions only succeed when they confirm what is already\r\ntrue. For example, the French Revolution succeeded (in so far as it ended\r\nthe aristocracy) exactly because the aristocracy was no longer really in\r\npower. The Russian Revolution was not truly a revolution - it was a coup\r\norganized by a small group of individuals. It succeeded in ridding Russia\r\nof the aristocracy but failed to rid Russia of authoritarianism. This\r\nfailure was not a failure of Marx, for Marx predicted revolution in a society\r\nfar more advanced than Russia in 1917, it was a failure for Russia and the\r\nRussian people. The groundwork of a cultural revolution had not been laid\r\nbefore the actual \"revolution.\" The American Revolution\r\nsucceeded only because the independence of the colonies was already a\r\nfact. The \"revolution\" merely confirmed the fact and made it\r\nclear. Should we have a revolution in the United States right now, it\r\nwould be nothing more than a restructuring of the system by which the ruling\r\nclass rules. For the lot of us it may be no better than it is right\r\nnow. In fact, it might be worse.<\/b>\r\n
If you are an anarchist, as I am, you desire an America WITHOUT\r\nGOVERNMENT. We currently live in a culture that believes in government and\r\nany revolution at this point in time will result in some other government. \r\nThus, while a revolution is highly unlikely an anarchist revolution in the near\r\nfuture is impossible. We cannot have an anarchist revolution until\r\nAmericans are already anarchists.<\/b><\/p>\r\n
There is an ethical defect in the utilitarian argument for permitting Bush\r\nfour more years to make things worse. Let me begin by an example. A\r\nsmall number of Zionists that had already transported themselves to Palestine\r\nargued, during World War II, that Hitler's outrage against the Jews would, in\r\nthe end, hasten the foundation of the State of Israel. Technically\r\nspeaking, they were correct. Moral outage at the crimes of the Nazis\r\nhasted world acceptance of the State of Israel. However, was the price\r\nworth it? The question is not whether Israel would have come to exist in\r\nthe absence of Hitler's crimes, for we will never know the answer to that\r\nquestion. The question is whether the slaughter of millions of human\r\nbeings is a worthy price to pay for the establishment of some political order in\r\nsome location to be enjoyed by individuals not included in that slaughter. \r\nWhile some individual living in Tel Aviv might think it was (though I doubt such\r\nan individual exists), I guarantee you that without exception no father or\r\nmother seeing their daughter or son carted off to a death camp would\r\nagree. The argument in favor of four more years of Bush in the hope that\r\nit will be the last straw that brings on some hypothetically better political\r\nstate is equal in all its flaws to the twisted argument that slaughtering Jews\r\nduring WWII was worth the price of creating Israel. The life of each\r\nindividual is unique and precious and NO ONE has the right to exchange that life\r\nfor their own plans or desires. Bush is Hitler's psychological twin. \r\nGiven the opportunity there will be millions slaughtered to make way way for his\r\nmentally twisted concept of God's will. Given the preceding, I cannot\r\nsupport the idea that we have no moral call to oppose Bush. All the\r\nevidence points to massive crimes against humanity should Bush remain in\r\npower. Given that fact, it is our duty to oppose Bush, even if it is to\r\nexchange him for a saner fascist against whom we can more productively organize\r\nan alternative over the years to come.<\/b><\/p>\r\n
I've seen the arguments against my position before, but I believe that they\r\nare hollow arguments. Most arguments against this position including\r\nassumptions that I reject. By opposing Bush one does not support\r\nKerry. By opposing Bush one does not support the liberals. Yes, for\r\na short time opposition to Bush boosts the fortunes of liberals, but that is the\r\nprice we must pay to get to the next step - opposing the liberals. As one\r\nages and looks back over directly experienced history, one learns that it is\r\nsometimes impossible to fight every battle at the same time. Ordering\r\none's battles is as important as fighting them. The order in which you\r\nchoose your tasks has a great effect on the outcome of those tasks. It is\r\nstrategically important to oppose Bush now and then to oppose Kerry when he is\r\nelected. This is the order of tasks before us. Those who look at\r\nopposition to Bush as support for Kerry make the same mistake that liberals and\r\nconservatives make: they believe that there are only two choices. Those\r\nwho support a third party candidate in a two party system make the mistake of\r\nbelieving that this third individual is actually a candidate. He has no\r\nchance of winning - therefore he is not a candidate. To achieve a third\r\nparty victory, you would need to take up arms. Nothing short of that would\r\nbring it about.<\/b><\/p>\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"The American ruling class must be peeing its pants for joy this election season. On the right we have a foaming-at-the-mouth fascist ready to launch the world into war, war and more war and on the "left" we have a kinder-and-gentler fascist willing to fight these pathetic wars and "do a better job at it" than the fascist on the right. What a choice for those of us who despise fascism and see Kerry for what he is - a different flavor of ruthless war criminal (read about his actions in combat during the Vietnam war)! Best yet, for the warmongers, he intends to suck up to the Likud even more than Bush does (and who thought that possible?).","numcomment":2,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2004\/07\/113934.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":113944,"heading":"First Step","article":"I agree with your theory, getting rid of Bush is a necessary first step. Remember Seattle, that was durring Clinton and the issues raised durring that action are being overshadowed by Iraq. Also we need to stop the fachist legislators like Tom Delay who are selling our govenment to Corporate Pigs who in turn enrich GOP coffers. People have to wake up and pay attention to what is going on in Washington and stop the repression of activists which will only get far worse if Bush is given another four years without having to worry about an election.","author":"Wavemaster","parent_id":113934,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-07-10 16:05:05","modified":"2004-07-10 16:05:05","fileurl":""},{"id":113949,"heading":"fresca","article":""If you are an anarchist, as I am, you desire an America WITHOUT GOVERNMENT."\r\n\r\nAre you actually serious about this?\r\n\r\nC'mon. Really?\r\n\r\nCan anyone be THAT deluded and foolish?","author":"Just wondering","parent_id":113934,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-07-10 17:09:06","modified":"2004-07-10 17:09:06","fileurl":""}]}