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| It's pumpkin cream soup season here. |
Yes, this is another political post of many you’ve seen today. I won’t blame you for not reading, but I want to say that these are my genuine thoughts and I didn’t copy & paste them from elsewhere. I do not claim to be right or to know it all.
The question is often asked WHY one is voting one way
or the other in the upcoming election. The question is fair – why am I voting
for xxx? And not why am I not voting for the other one (or party)! That seems a harder question for people to answer.
On the weekend I watched the Trump rally in Latrobe,
PA and Kamala’s rally in Atlanta. I wanted to hear their campaign promises,
tone, topics, etc. for a comparison and I took notes. I wanted to hear what
they had to say even though I’m too cynical to believe campaign promises,
believing candidates in today’s election campaigns – both in the US and in
Germany – just say what they think sounds good, what they think the people want
to hear, and what will get them votes. I don’t know if that’s the same for
other American voters, but I go with what I see in the candidate, what her/his
vision for the country seems to be, and how s/he makes me feel.
So looking at and listening to Kamala Harris, why am I
voting for her?
What I see in Kamala is, for starters, empathy, joy
and energy. Is the empathy only an act? I can never know that without knowing
the person. In the first minutes of her rally in Atlanta she mentioned and
spoke to those whose lives have been upended by the recent hurricanes, acknowledging that people are suffering. She
comes from humble beginnings and I am willing to believe she has not forgotten
what it is like for the middle class to live, despite no longer having to worry
about the cost of groceries, energy, and gasoline herself. Is she perfect? Far
from it – because she’s a human being.
There is one thing that she has repeatedly said and
posted, which I tried to impress upon my students in Wisconsin every single
year: No matter what we disagree on and where we come from, there are more
things that united us human beings than divide us. By “things” I meant and
mean dreams, desires, hopes, fears, and concerns. We are - or at least should be - human beings first. I love that Kamala keeps saying
this because if we could remember that I think the world would be a better
place.
Regarding her campaign promises, maybe I don’t know
enough about a president’s power, but I don’t know how a candidate is supposed to accomplish
what s/he says s/he’ll do. To her credit, at the rally in Atlanta she told us she has a plan to do this and that, not that she WILL do those
things. She said she has a plan to
bring down the cost of living (from medications to groceries)
support small businesses & entrepreneurs
take on corporate gauging
implement a middle class tax cut, including $6000 during the 1st year of a child's life
take on the cost of housing by building more homes and taking on landlords who buy up properties and increase rental prices
lower health care costs for people as they age
protect reproductive freedom
In her list of campaign promises, she shows that she
is considering those of us who live average lives, work for a paycheck, are
concerned about health care and its costs, are trying to buy a house, and might
live beyond retirement. There was little fear-mongering and her message was mainly
positive. I’m pessimistic enough; I want a president who sees the positivity I wish I could see.
It’s true, for me reproductive freedom is a big issue.
I believe that every woman – regardless of her financial status and where she
lives – needs to have access to health care and Planned Parenthood and all the
services they provide and have provided.
At her rally there were some big topics she avoided: illegal
immigration, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East, for
instance. I would not know the first thing about how any of those problems
should be solved. At least she gave us no empty promises about solving them
quickly and easily. I suspect illegal immigration has been an ongoing problem over
quite a few presidencies precisely because it is not easy to solve. All three
conflicts involve adult human beings over whom the U.S. has no control, and I
do not believe empty promises are helpful. Whoever becomes president will be
dealing with those conflicts and fighting against at least part of Congress all
the way. I wish they were easy and solvable.
I believe Kamala respects people from all backgrounds, cultures, relgions, sexual preferences, races, and genders. I have not heard her speak of any groups of people with contempt or ill will. This appeals to me. I will not live long enough to understand how anyone can denigrate an entire group of people, and therefore somone who simply accepts others with differences is someone I want to listen to.
I do not believe my life or even my children’s lives will be drastically affected regardless of who gets elected on Nov. 5th because I do not believe the problems I and they face can be easily or quickly solved. Inflation will not suddenly end. Prices will not suddenly come down. Wages and salaries will not suddenly go up. The costs of housing and energy will not suddenly come down. So I need to decide whom to vote for based on who I think can best represent our country at home and on the global stage and who has the interests of human beings at stake. Who can handle it, who can communicate well with others, who has a positive view of the future, and who expresses the desire to fight for people's rights and freedoms.
For me, that is Kamala Harris.
I'll be back to posting about Kaya and falconry soon!
