by Xavier Miranda
The perils of a second Trump presidency is acknowledged and certainly not disputed.
However, the rationale for supporting Biden and Democratic candidates rings hollow in terms that their respective global and community advocacy has been conspicuously lacking.
Where are these candidates when children are separated from family members at the border?
Where are these candidates when families implore school district officials to deliberate environmental concerns as they conduct school closures?
Where are these candidates when confronting police brutality?
Where are these candidates when an overwhelming amount of community members seek municipal ownership of our electric company, in order to ameliorate incurring some of the highest energy rates in the state?
Where are these candidates when neoliberal and homophobic leadership is imposed at our university?
Where are these candidates when community defends historic preservation of culturally significant neighborhoods?
Where are these candidates when criminal activity is revealed at various levels of local government and school district administration?
The onus of preserving democracy is always placed on a “disengaged” or “apathetic” populace. However, what reforms or benefits have been evident since our “blue city” has been governed by such individuals?
Our city ranks right up there with San Francisco, NYC, and LA in incurring the highest property tax rates in the country; despite the fact that 79901 is among the lowest GDP per capita in the nation.
“Taxation without representation” certainly resonates loudly with a majority of us, yet we continue to support the status quo.
Our kids deserve better.
Thankfully a young generation has taken notice and is effectively organizing a base that will address climate change, as well as confront systems that profit from our misery and suppress our vote.
The transition to a fascist authoritarianism is imminent, yet not accepted. Our despair will inevitably reach a level which will prompt radical systemic reform; akin to how education, health, and even consumer systems have changed since the pandemic; albeit, with different value systems.
The ascendancy of right-wing ideologues, everlasting global war, the normalization of genocide, the prevalence of mass surveillance, the erosion of women’s freedom, vast income inequality, the blatant corruption of our Justice system, and rapid and destructive developments related to climate change—-all prompt us to nurture a collective consciousness and compassion.
The notion of voting for the “lesser of two evils” leaves us to contend with individuals such as Dori Fenenbock, Vince Perez, and Chris Hernandez who run as Dems, but serve entities that seek to profit from dismantling our public education system. Their actions, affiliations, and their campaign finance reports are quite condemning.
Vote for whomever equitably serves all of us, but please don’t ask us to compromise our integrity; otherwise, we continue to perpetuate the same colonized mindset.
Respectfully,
Xavier Miranda
Sure wyoud be nice to have a real third party that would break the power of thse two giant organizations that just do occasional window-dressing to make it look like they care about the lower 90% Sadly nothing of the kind in El Paso…but I will vote for Jill Stein….given the Electoral College, that is just a wasted gesture..
Absolutely Biden and other national Democrats should answer those questions. But their lackluster answers and/or lack of answers does not justify voting for anyone other than Biden in November. Trump has promised a dictatorship and we should take him seriously.
Rep. Veronica Escobar raised $961K last year of which $489K came from large individual contributions and $459K from PACS. Somehow I don’t think those “large individual” contributions were all Democrats. Like the other El Paso politicians, the small “d’s” are likely owned by the large “‘R’s.” And we wonder why nothing changes. Ms. Escobar is a neoliberal proponent of forever wars in Israel and Ukraine, supportive of the “Downtown Mafia” here and their desire to widen I-10, and generally out of touch with her electorate. I’m just waiting for her to endorse TXDOT’s plan to build a freeway over the Bosque Park but I hope I’m wrong. We’ll see where she comes down on the gas huge gas pipeline project now underway in Van Horn.
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/veronica-escobar/summary?cid=N00041702