No matter who wins, the result is going to be heartrending to roughly half the country. I feel like I want to put my arms around millions of people and tell them it’s going to be OK.
I voted for Kamala.
I’ve heard people say they’re voting for Trump because they want Kennedy to do his thing with food and health. I like a lot of what Bobby stands for on those things, much of which was part of my own campaign. But Bobby would be working for Donald Trump. Trump would be about a lot more things than food and health.
I’ve heard people say they’re not voting for Kamala because of Gaza. I understand that, but I think the people of Gaza are in a lot more danger under a Trump administration.
I’ve heard people say they don’t want to vote for Kamala because of how that campaign went down. Every cell in my body understands that. But we have to take on the biggest issue first, and that’s saving our country from a man for whom the basic rules and traditions of American democracy mean nothing. There‘s some chip missing there when it comes to human decency and ethics. There are things he says that were he to actually do them, we would no longer be functioning as even the shred of a free society.
My vote does not matter less because it is a vote of protest. I protest authoritarianism. I protest the prospect of a dictatorship. I protest the bigotry and racism of someone who views other people with such disdain.
That’s just where my heart is. Nobody needs to comment that they are “disappointed” in me, because I am disappointed in anyone who thinks I should vote my heart less than they should vote theirs. To me, this is not a happy election. I have seen too much for that. But it is a critically important election nonetheless. Each of us needs to do our best, particularly in light of what state we’re in and what difference our vote can realistically make there.
No matter who wins, the great work will begin on the other side of this election. I don’t know what part I will play, but I will do whatever I can to further the ideal that ultimately love will win.