BRATTLEBORO — Dan DeWalt's Viewpoint exposes everything that is wrong with politics up to the current day in 21st-century America.
The logic of this politics is well-engrained by now: Blame everything that is wrong with America on white men.
Think about that for a minute. Do you really find the Mickey Mouse and simplistic nature of this politics actually appealing?
If our politics is to be dominated by a war on white men, is it any surprise that white men are exploring more radical right-wing politics?
Mr. DeWalt brings up a series of oppressions against women and gays and transgender people that have been driving our politics. I don't have time in this response to put these matters into context, but there is something very important to note about the issues he seeks to engage with and condemn white men over. These are all social and identity issues that have little to do with the struggles most people face.
Not long ago I got a more than $3,000 bill for a simple trip to the emergency room here in Brattleboro. Given my experience, I would say it is likely a lot more people are concerned with affordable health care, which neither political party is addressing.
I am not diabetic, but for those of you who are, it ought to outrage you that if you are under 65 years old, the politicians have chosen not to regulate the price of insulin on your behalf.
It is commonly said that we must vote Democrat to protect democracy, and the Democrats in Congress have indeed put forward bills to allegedly do that.
The fatal flaw with these bills, however, is that they do not protect transparency so that we know the vote is fair, and they seek to hamper third parties that dare challenge the two-party system. It is clear to me that the Democrat's concern for democracy is fraudulent, and our “democracy” is junk until we overturn the two-party system.
The constant harping on social issues and identity politics is simply an effort put on by both parties to avoid issues that would actually transform people's lives because these issues offend the sensibilities of the oligarchs that fund both parties. If we had a politics that mattered instead of getting hung up on trans issues and drag queens, we might be looking to end our status as police officer of the world and cut funds to the military so that the residents of Jackson, Mississippi and Flint, Michigan have clean water.
A politics that matters would worry more about transparent elections and elections where more than two parties can participate via instant runoff voting than about getting more voter participation in a clearly fraudulent “democracy.”
As for myself I will not be voting with social justice or marginalized peoples in mind. I will not be seeking to punish white men with my vote. I will likely be voting for third-party or independent candidates with innovative ideas and who are not captured by corporate or oligarchical money.