The time to VOTE is NOW

A few articles ago, I asked Trump supporters who read my column to contact me and let me know why they support the President. Apparently Trump supporters do not read my column because, so far, I have not received one reply. It is a shame, because if there is one thing wrong with America today is the fact that we who hold different views do not talk to each other. We insult and attack each other in the media, our blogs, our Facebook posts and Twitter messages. But do we talk to each other? Of course not. At least people on both sides in our first Civil War communicated with each other, if violently.

This lack of communication from the other side in our Great Divide leads me to conclude that people who read “Jesse’s Journal” tend to agree with me, and believe that Trump is the worst thing that’s ever happened to our great country. So what are we going to do about it? I have a friend who spends his time bitching and moaning about Trump, his administration, followers, policies and programs. But does he do anything to stop Trump? Of course not. Like many others, my friend is a victim of sedentary agitation, a condition where, in the words of U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), “we sit on our couch so upset about what’s going on and fail to realize that we have to do something about it.”

As Senator Booker said so well, we cannot allow our inability to do everything to undermine our determination to do something. We MUST do something, or else we will have Trump determine (and destroy) our destinies for the next six years, aided and abetted by a Republican Congress. Unfortunately, barring a sensational revelation on the part of Robert Mueller’s investigative committee, it is highly unlikely that Trump will be toppled anytime soon. If we want to stop Trump, we must do it ourselves. Happily, the anti-Trump Resistance is alive and well, and always in need of recruits. Opposition groups ranging from the Democratic Party to organizations fighting on behalf of LGBT people, women, labor, youth, the elderly, the disabled, racial or religious minorities, immigrants or the environment are hard at work in your communities, and waiting for you to join them. Why don’t you?

If you cannot join a group, for whatever reason, there is one thing that you can do: VOTE. If you are U.S. citizen, a legal resident of your state, over 18 and not a convicted felon, you are eligible to vote. Though it might be too late to vote in most primaries, you still have time to register to vote for the November elections. Though Trump will not be up for re-election until 2020, voters in November will have a chance to slow Trump’s momentum in its tracks by electing opposition Senators and Representatives, Governors and State Legislators who will say NO and mean it; unlike the Trump droids who make up the current GOP Congress.

Many Americans do not vote; and Republicans in power do their best to keep people from voting, especially those who might vote against them. But you, my friend, must resist the temptation to do nothing, Come November 6 – if not before, in places that allow early voting – you must step away from your easy chair and VOTE, as if your life depends on it. (Because it does.) Do not give Trump and his minions the last laugh. Let us have the last laugh, by electing candidates who will work hard to control his madness. You can’t complain if you do not vote.

Jesse’s Journal
by Jesse Monteagudo