My attitude toward this year’s election that’s currently taking place is the exact opposite of how I felt in 2016 (I was fully and solely engrossed in electoral politics and I’m embarrassed) as my personal politics have developed and transformed. Whereas I used to be afraid to call myself a democratic socialist back in the day, I’m a full fledged abolitionist and communist now and I’m excited about both! I’ve also fully divested from campaigns and electoral politics in general (here’s why I didn’t vote in 2020) because my attention is now on organizing and building with people in my community because there is so much work to do. One of the most frustrating parts about election years, including odd election ones (like during next year) is how celebrities, politicians, and other everyday people argue that voting is the most important action anyone can take and just voting blue is enough to make real change. In 2020, the Democrats propped up and elected one of the least exciting and competent candidates for president and expected the rest of the country to pick him over the devil currently in office (I’m still shocked Biden won and I’m expecting the Republicans to take back every part of government in 2024). The Dems also nominated corporate candidates for political seats, gave up in every fight for COVID relief, left every single person in America behind during the pandemic, changed nothing that Tr*mp and his goons put in to place, etc., and somehow expect everything in America to be fine since Biden is president. Like I and many others expected during 2020’s election and this current one, nothing has fundamentally changed in the U.S. because electoral politics does not ensure that we all have homes, food, healthcare, education, jobs, clean water, and conflict prevention resources. Since Biden took office two years ago, we still see people sleeping on sidewalks, high unemployment numbers, cops killing people, barbaric incarceration, people dying without healthcare, massive inflation, etc. America is a violent, racist, unjust country because of capitalism and white supremacy and neither of those will disappear if there’s more Democrats in office. We need to be working with comrades toward a world where we are all safe, healthy, and given what we need to thrive and bloom and no matter what has happened with this election or the future ones, that work will only be done outside of electoral politics.
