Very idealistic, akenaton. But you are not going to change the system by disenfranchising yourself. Of the candidates available in this election, my real choice is "None of the above. If God had wanted us to vote, He would have given us some candidates." But of those available, Kerry is the most "progressive" candidate who actually stands a chance. Snort if you want, but if you can't see a substantial difference between Kerry and Bush, you're just not paying attention. Kerry is certainly more progressive than Bush, even if he isn't progressive enough to please either you or GUEST. Or me, for that matter.

If Bush gets back in, neither you nor me nor no one else is going to have a snowball's chance in hell of swinging this country back from an even more severe hurtle to the Right than what we've seen since Reagan was elected. If Bush gets in for another four years, it will only reinforce his (and many of his supporters') belief that God has ordained him to be president. This accounts for his arrogant belief that he's infallible and his refusal to acknowledge the facts if reality. "If the policy doesn't fit the facts, change the facts!" And if you add a "mandate" from the voters, he'll think he has confirmation of his ordination, and will in all likelihood take his ideas (and his supporters') and run berserk with them. Think for a moment about what is then going to happen to the U. S. foreign policy, the environment, what's left of civil liberties and social safety-net programs, and God only knows what else. If what Bush and his supporters want is followed to its logical (!?) conclusion, what I see in the future is a dictatorship composed of an amalgam of fascism (where the corporations and the government are one and the same, which is pretty damned close to what we have right now) and an American Taliban (wherein the "morals" of the religious Right have the force of law).

Kerry is the only viable alternative. He's not ideal by any means, but he does stand a chance of winning, even if by a narrow margin, and if he does win, he'll at least slow down the plunge into the abyss. This will buy some time, which we badly need about now.

Throwing away your vote on a non-viable third-party candidate, even if that candidate mirrors your philosophy in every detail, may make you feel morally proud of yourself, but being able to feel smug about not compromising your principles will be damned cold comfort if, after working or demonstrating for a progressive cause, you suddenly find yourself peering out through barbed wire.

"But this is America! It can't happen here!"

Oh, yeah?

Don Firth