Never Surrender

 It might be hyperbole to say "Vote as if your life depended on it." Then again, it might not. 

So much of what is currently at stake across the country has to do with how we will react and move forward from the brink upon which we currently find ourselves. Do we jump into the abyss and allow the chaotic forces of oppression and fear to drive us into the past? Or should we grab the wheel and steer away from the cliff? 

Thry as I might, I continue to be unable to understand the idea that Making America Great Again has anything to do with racism, homophobia, ignorance and guns. Touting the Second Amendment and securing our border turn out to be code words for xenophobia. The xeno in this exercise are anyone and anything that does not fit into the rigid red box that a former game show host constructed to appeal to "his people." Sadly, the allegiance he has inspired does not speak well to the free will and thinking of our country as a whole. The crowds that gather in every state of the union to cheer on the hate-fueled campaigns of the hand-picked candidates of this new ultra-conservative brand of "Republicans" terrify me. 

I am suggesting that the should terrify you. 

That is why I hope that this most recent slate of ignorance doesn't turn us all off of politics but rather inspires us ot go out and make the difference that we can. If you've got a ballot in your hands, you have power. The insurrectionsists are still out there, waiting for an opening. Tiny brained minions dressed in tactical gear, carring weapons, were staking out ballot boxes in Maricopa County. Unfortunately, as Election Day draws closer, it is likely that this won't be an isolated incident. We want voting to be transparent, but we don't want to surrender to intimidation. Our history is full of it. 

Don't surrender to it. Vote.