by Joseph Harrington
10/8/24
Originally published in the Wednesday Journal (Oak Park and River Forest)
As I write this letter it is one month from the most anticipated election in any living person’s memory here in the U.S. The prevailing mainstream media mantra is the election is about saving our democracy. Hmm. Saving it from whom or what exactly?
Well, not surprisingly, Ken Trainor prefers to editorially declare the matter “Two sides” [Viewpoints, Oct. 2]. One month, for sure. But just two sides? His column questions polling accuracy and rightfully so. However, there are recognized polls being taken that acknowledge what the major media does not: There are more than two choices.
In the Oct. 4 Chicago Sun-Times, there is an article about early voting in Chicago. The reporter quotes a woman who states she is voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, all the while wearing a Palestinian scarf. That’s right, there are more than two choices. And there are legitimate polls that currently show candidate Stein leading among potential Muslim voters in Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin. Harris cannot afford to lose any of those states. The fact that Stein is trending upward is bad news for Harris. All she has to do is condemn the year-long carnage that has literally ripped families apart in Gaza. This one-sided assault on a hugely civilian population has been documented. But she won’t demand a cease fire. She can’t. Same as Biden won’t. And can’t. To millions of un-polled voters, a vote for either of the two sides is thus a literal vote for continued crimes against humanity. Period. And millions want their tax money to stop paying for the deadly weapons we ship to the country that bombs schools, shelters, hospitals and relief convoys. It’s nauseating.
Stein may not have any chance of winning the election, but the media embargo on factual reporting of her campaign isn’t working for the countless silent supporters of her message: People, Planet, Peace. If Harris loses, she has only her party’s obstinate, and infuriating for many, stance on an issue that begs for resolution.
Lastly, this isn’t a battle for an existing democracy. When the voice of any legitimate third-party is systematically ignored, litigated against to prevent ballot access, and made subject to constant prevarications, that is clearly anti-democratic.
The only certainty about however the election shakes out is this: We will get the government we deserve.