Come November, I’ll most likely vote for Biden… reluctantly, to be sure. I understand that getting the Orange Menace out of the White House must be our goal, for all our sakes, especially for the most vulnerable in our society. I know all the arguments-- don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, et cetera, et cetera…
But I hope you’ll all forgive me if I take a day or two to mourn what could have been. Both Warren and Sanders spoke of hope, of change, of a chance for our country to be better than the status quo… the idea that government can and should act for all people, not just the monied, powerful few. I cannot explain how profoundly moving I found that message. I’d like to see real social progress in my lifetime. And yet again, the dream has been deferred, delayed, postponed. Hopefully not forever… but as I grow older, I wonder if I’ll be around to see it come to pass. And yes, I know the struggle continues-- we must keep fighting if we’re to have any real hope at all. But the pain is also real, and I don’t see much sense in denying that.
I’m not entirely sure what I’m trying to say here. Except… tearing each other new ones over Bernie isn’t doing anyone a bit of good. To those who love Bernie, and Warren, and the progressive cause as much as I do-- I know it hurts, but please don’t take it out on other people. It won’t change anything and just makes it harder to work together in the future. And for those annoyed at the Bernie supporters… I won’t justify bad behavior, but please understand that in some cases at least, it comes from profound disappointment and pain. And I do think we should at minimum acknowledge that Biden has weaknesses. The Republicans sure won’t hesitate to point them out, so we’d better be prepared to deal with them in the general election.
Can we all please just be excellent to each other?
