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WHY
I VOTED FOR JOHN KERRY Today
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Daniel Alegi
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- OpEdNews.com
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- Today I voted for John Kerry. By absentee ballot,
from Sweden.
- HERE IS WHY:
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- I am a progressive, a
liberal, and I am not ashamed of it. I believe in democracy and the
right to free spech, the right to dissent, and the right to express my
opinions freely. I voted for John Kerry because I am dissatisfied with
the W strategy to curtail opposition and debate in our country.
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- I need no further proof that the W administration has, intentionally or
not, misunderstood its dubious mandate. The neo-con white house has
exploited the events of 9/11 to justify a self-destructive foreign
policy based on standalone economic and military considerations. This
may be spun as partisan politicking, but it is fact. I voted for Kerry
to have a president with a mandate he earned, and a better sense of
what truth is.
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- I reject the politics of fear in the USA. A large portion of our country
is distant from the rest of the world and must rely on mediated
information. The mainstream media, however, is too often in the
business of spreading partisan echoes of support for a tough and
merciless nation. I am growing weary of propaganda . I am also tired
of how the industrial-military complex
is embedded with the info-tainment process of war. (Any
references to GE is purely intentional). I voted for John Kerry
because I feel he could do something about getting more fair and
balanced news on the air.
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- I am inspired by MoveOn.org and other progressive media, think tanks,
community and grassroots organizations. I support the ACLU, OpedNews,
Pacifica and other non-profit clusters of volunteers who have given
money and sleep to amplify our cry of shame and protest. Disbelief
just isn’t enough anymore. Until recently, few such organizations
were effective. It is probably because of George W that we have
managed to gather and fund resources, and to openly challenge the
information monopoly with everything we have, from Michael Moore to
self-expression. I voted for John Kerry as a way to say thank you for
believing in what we do.
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- I watched all the debates, live, at 3AM in Europe. W’s weaknesses in
the area of unscripted reasoning abilities, message clarity, concern
for social issues, listening skills, stubbornness and negative
charisma have emerged in frankly frightening starkness. Without a
friendly audience, applause lines, and strong speech writers, George
is truly an unimpressive emperor. I think we deserve a president
who is a thinker, not a drinker. Let alone an AWOL millionaire and a
fanatic Christian who doesn’t read. For this too I voted for John
Kerry, and I wonder if God votes absentee too.
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- In the peculiar situation of having already voted but having to wait two
weeks to find out how YOU will vote, I am concerned about the fairness
of the voting process itself. The manipulations of 2000 must not be
allowed to happen again and don’t count on a landslide. States will
be decided by less than 1000 votes, and with touch-screen voting we
will never know. MoveOn has encouraged people to mail in their vote if
they can, to leave a paper trace of their stand for peace and justice.
To all the strong suggestions I humbly add another home-made one:
don’t vote alone. Call a friend and ask them to go vote “with
you”. If they have already voted, call someone else and tell them to
do the same. Bring your vote + 1. Everybody. Just for safety. And vote
for John Kerry, so he can make election day a Sunday.
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- (See you in two weeks)
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- Daniel Alegi
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- Daniel alegi is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and film consultant.
He left california in june 2003 and moved to Sweden, where he also
teaches Visual Culture at the University of Karlstad. He runs the
website www.cinemahead.com .
For president he just voted John Kerry.
- This letter is reprintable with the above credit
note.
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