The Third Alternative – Don't Vote

Stay home!

In his speech “Beyond Vietnam” Martin Luther King spoke about his belief that Americans had a choice to make. He offered that “choice” 45 years ago. History reveals a “choice” was made, but was it the one Martin Luther King hoped would be made?

If anyone bothered to listen to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last night you would know or see firm evidence that a decision was made alright, but not the one Martin Luther King hoped for. What he hoped for was: "If we will but make the right choice, we will be able to speed up the day, all over America and all over the world, when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream." The choice he offered then and still viable today was: “nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation.”

Forty five-years is one long day, but here we are at it's end, five minutes before midnight. The choice is still available, but who to choose to lead the way? Americans are being forced to decide in a few months who will be President of the United States. Leading Republican contenders' choice is obvious – “violent co-annihilation.” Ron Paul being the exception here, but he has the “winnable perception” problem. Then there's the standing President and his record speaks for itself – he's as much of a corporatist warmonger as the Republicans. So, what do peace-loving, patriotic American voters do? Waste their vote? The question is, who or what are you voting for?

Every one of these candidates, from the lowliest dog-catcher to the President of the United States is totally corrupt-to-the-gut and that is precisely what you vote for. Everyone gets exactly what they vote for. Which makes every voter liable and accountable for everything they do, every law the deliberately violate, and every individual human the murder or cause to be murdered.

For the first time today I heard someone with some experience in this voting process answer the American Voters' dilemma – how to chose the way of peace and absolve themselves their blood guilt. Democracy Now has a pertinent interview with Ralph Nader on President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech: "He Says One Thing and Does Another": Ralph Nader Responds to Obama’s State of the Union Address. This is the link for the complete interview.

You may not agree with Amy Goodman or Ralph Nader, but there is one thing you cannot disagree with them on - Democracy works!

AMY GOODMAN: Ralph, you have written a new book called Getting Steamed to Overcome Corporatism: Build It Together to Win. People may be listening to you right now and agreeing with a lot of what you are saying, and also saying, "What is the alternative here? Mitt Romney? Newt Gingrich?" What is your response to that? 

RALPH NADER: Well, this is the book, and I’m going to drop it off at the White House soon. I think he should read it, because the left is not making any demands on Obama because they’re so freaked out by the Republicans and their crazed rhetoric on their debates. Well, if that is going to continue for 2012, that means the corporations are pulling on Obama and the Democratic Party. The Republicans are pulling on Obama and Democratic Party, because they’re getting all the media, because they have a vibrant primary process, and there’s no primary challenge to Obama, so the progressive agenda is not getting any media at all, week after week. 

So the alternative, Amy, is for the left, such as they are — progressive, liberal people, I like to call them "justice seekers" — to make demands on Obama, to make demands for improving the rights of labor, improving the rights of small farmers, improving the rights of small business, the environmental demands that need to be made, the crackdown on corporate crime, a whole panoply of corporate reform agenda, the kind of crackdown on these global corporations that have abandoned America and shipped jobs and industries to fascist and communist regimes who know how to keep workers in their place.But there is no pull, because they’re so freaked out by the Republicans. So, one can really say the Republicans could sit around in a smoke-filled room and say, "Let’s be even more crazed. Let’s be even more corporatist." This will create a good vacuum for the Democrats to move into, because both parties are dialing for the same corporate dollars, and it will bring the left to their knees, because they’ll say, "We’ve got nowhere to go." 

Well, the reason why this speech was so failing, especially in foreign and military policy, the reason why it was so failing is because Obama doesn’t have to worry about tens of millions of people who call themselves progressives or liberals, because they have signaled to him that they got nowhere to go. Well, I think if they believe they got nowhere to go, that they don’t want to vote for a third party or Green Party, they can at least, in April, May, June, hold his feet to the fire and present him with a set of progressive demands, in order to tell him that they do have a place to go: they can stay home. And that’s what hurt the Democrats in 2010. People can just stay home.

There's your choice, folks. What it really means to practice 'non-violence' and peace. In other words: Practice what you preach or stay home. Let's see who has the guts to make the right choice.

--Joe