“Vote Like Your Lives Depend on It”

Commentary — By Buddy Sampson on August 27, 2020 at 11:47 pm

The American Experiment is in Peril

By Buddy Sampson

“Vote Like Your Lives Depend on It.” These words, eloquently spoken by former First Lady Michelle Obama have never rang truer. We, the American people are witnessing an assault on all the institutions that make our country a democracy. Listen to Michelle Obama’s comments below:

 

The world has seen a magnification of what can happen when American voters choose not to vote or make the wrong choice to a horrifying degree. At press time, 180,000 people have died of Covid-19. Many of those lives could have been saved if only we had a president that listened to health experts in the beginning of our pandemic instead of calling it a “hoax.”

Covid-19 has disproportionally affected communities of color, including the Black and Latino communities. We have had a president, Donald Trump, that minimizes the deaths in our country by saying, “It is what is.” We have a leader that when told that Putin and his government are ordering attacks on our soldiers, he refuses to confront the Russian leader about his actions.

And people of color, especially in the Black community- beware. If you notice, lots of anti- Kamila Harris posts are being spotlighted in our social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We, as a community must be smarter and realize that we are being used as a fuse for a powder keg- intended to blow up democracy as we know it. There is a lot of Russian hackers and bad operators that specialize in misleading the Black community- including those that infiltrate our movements like Black Lives Matter and cause mayhem.

We have to be smarter.

Let all the Russian bots, the people that want to sow discord in the Biden/Harris run, have at it. We have to ignore all the noise. Protest groups and potential protestors need to be vetted and if they have violent tendencies, we don’t want them in our protests. There are people that want to hurt us as Black people and kill us. We have agitators, some of them bored, suburban kids and some misguided opportunists that want to cause havoc. Some of the agitators are plants from organizations that want an attack on our communities, like the KKK and many white supremacist groups. We invite people that want to join our protest, but not those that want mayhem and havoc.

There are many, many people in this country that are Trump supporters and many of those Trump supporters have very racist ideals. A lot of Trump supporters are simply misguided, but many of them, before Covid-19 were very happy with Trump, despite his divisive rhetoric. Why? Because if you are a high-income earner, you paid less tax than ever and you’ve done well financially in the stock market. But where does that leave low to middle class earners? Struggling to make ends meet.

To the Black community- Could you imagine Federal officers coming into your community snatching people off the streets? That’s already happened in Portland, ordered by Trump.

Now imagine it 10 times worse, our democracy withering away into a dictatorship- people snatched off the streets if you disagree with our president. As of now, as a media person and journalist, I have the freedom of speech on my side, gloriously illustrated in Article I of the Constitution:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

However, we are seeing the rights of the press assaulted as we speak by our president who calls us, the media, “the enemy of the people,” when, in effect we are the watchdog for the people, holding our leaders accountable for actions that defy the will of the people. Those words from our president put us, the media in grave danger. The assault on our freedoms now, as we speak, are being magnified.

But we can do something. We have power. Black people have two to three old-fashioned remedies.

• 1) Vote- Vote Joe Biden/Kamila Harris.

I know there’s more than a few of you that don’t like Joe Biden or Kamila Harris for whatever reason. But if you want a dictatorship- vote for Trump. Otherwise Biden/Harris is our only solid choice to keep our democracy. Talk to your families and friends. You have many friends and family members that are on the fence about voting. Even if you convince one person to vote, it could make a major difference.

Don’t let anyone intimidate you- your right to vote, especially this year is important. Voting by mail right now is the safest way you can vote. For tips on how to be sure your vote is counted, read this article in the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/17/how-to-make-sure-your-vote-is-counted/

• 2) Boycott-Black folk are among the biggest consumers in the world- with billions of spending at our disposal. If we stock up and then boycott some of these big chains and companies- we’ll get the powers that be to pay attention and change things- starting by equal opportunity in corporate hierarchies and access to wealth and prosperity- well, like any other citizen.The boycott is a peaceful way to get change to happen fast.

• 3) Peaceful protest- All protest doesn’t have to involve marching. Artists have songs, journalists have their columns and outlets, and you have the power to talk to your friends and your relatives- imploring them to vote- this is the most important election in your lifetime.

Speaking of Boycotts

Watching the NBA is one of my favorite things to do. The Milwaukee Bucks players have shown us how to make change- the boycott. The killings and shooting of Black men and women, including the latest shooting of Jacob Blake – another cowardly act by bad actors in our police department- give us reason to be alarmed and afraid, but resolute.

Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, in a post-game interview, spoke for many in the Black community, blasting our country for the continuous inequities for citizens of color.

I salute the Milwaukee Bucks for showing a really effective way to make change. Words won’t do it. I ain’t mad at them- The Milwaukee Bucks, not even a little bit.

In Conclusion

2020 has been, perhaps the most tumultuous year in American History. We, as a people receive disturbing news almost every day. But we are not helpless- we have the power of the vote to change things. Michelle Obama was giving it to you straight- our democracy is in peril. We have the power to change that with our vote in November and by simply using our economic power. If Donald Trump gets reelected, we will be living in a dictatorship, a police state in which all the liberties we now enjoy will wither away. Our president has shown signs of despotic leadership. If you choose not to vote now- and this is no exaggeration- The American Experiment will be over.

It’s time to make a change. Vote Biden/Harris.