An open letter

[soc_puppet]

Dear Democratic Party,

Hi! Remember me? I'm that young semi-marginalized person that's been voting for you for a few years now.

Sadly, I don't think I'm going to be doing so again for a while. It's nothing personal, really - except, wait, IT TOTALLY IS.

That thing where you're voting to take away my bodily autonomy? That thing where you're allowing my right to get married to the person I choose go up for vote by mob mentality? That thing where you don't seem to give a flying fuck whether you actually reform our health care?

Well, the personal is political, as they say. And it doesn't get much more personal than what I decide to do with my uterus, who I want to spend my life with, and whether I can survive from day to day.

It doesn't even matter if it's just me or not. The fact that you're deciding this for every other woman, queer person, and person who can't afford basic health care in this country, though? The fact that you're doing all of this when you claim to be the party that won't?

Color me disillusioned. Color me abandoned. Color me sick-at-heart. Color me something - anything - other than blue. Because I'm tired of this.

Next election, if I vote, I'll be voting for someone whose views actually align with my own, regardless of party affiliation. And if they lose? Well, at least I'll have gone down standing for my principles - which is something more than you can say.

Either way, I'm outta here.

----

On that note, anyone interested in moving to Canada with me? Alternately, for those already in Canada, would you mind if I were to drop in occasionally and/or set up an anime club or something? Because I could, potentially, do this on my own. I would still like an eensy bit more of a support network than that, though.

Comments

[meigui]

Honestly, I think we're just going through another party paradigm shift. Which. Looking at US history, we've kind of been overdue one for a decade or two now anyway--I'm thinking what'll happen is that the Republican party will devour itself slowly and painfully, the Democrats will sidle rightwards to make up for it, and a third, more liberal party will rise up to make up for that, allowing for a net leftwards movement. (Or we might even have another full-on reversal of polarity and the Republican party will become liberal again--after all, in the prior half of the twentieth century, the Dems were conservative and the Repubs were liberal, so it's not inconceivable that they'd switch roles again.) It'd be happening faster, I think, but the economy right now has been prolonging the process--politics trends towards the conservative side when the economy gets sluggish, but meanwhile the social forces behind the current liberal movement are, I think, so strong anyway that the interaction has been giving us these strange eddies--NOM, the teabaggers, etc.

TL;DR: wait out the storm! It'll be okay in the end, I think.

[soc_puppet]

I'd be okay with either of those, really - or, better yet, get more than two parties in the game for a while. The problem is, I go off my parents' health insurance in two years. Two years from now is also when the thing the Iowa conservatives have to counter gay marriage here will go up for vote or whatever. Coincidentally, it takes about two years to become a Canadian citizen!

I may try for dual citizenship, if such a thing would be available to me. If things look like they're starting to get better before I complete the process (or I end up with some other viable health care coverage and my rights otherwise do not go sliding wildly backwards), I'll probably not move after all. If, however, they aren't better yet, and they don't look like they'll be getting better in the extremely near future, it's off to the north I'll be. I can always move back later, I'm (reasonably) sure.

[meigui]

...ah, right, I forgot Canada allows for dual citizenship. I also didn't realize you could get it that fast, too--my parents' naturalization process took upwards of five times that long. In that case, though, it does sound like a good backup plan to have in case things don't start improving quickly enough over here.

[soc_puppet]

Oh Canada~ ♫♪

Well, that's what was said in the post I linked up there; though, if I'm remembering/interpreting correctly from some of your posts, the fact that I'm white is probably going to be a nice shortening factor for me =_= (Not that I'm complaining that I potentially get a shorter wait; it just sucks that people who don't look like me have to wait longer.)

[meigui]

...I. Didn't even notice that was a link.

[MASSIVE FACEPALM]

...and it could be! But hahaha actually though my parents were immigrating from China, which. As I understand it, tends to make any kind of international process more complicated? Considering how bizarre China is about international relationships. (China doesn't allow dual citizenships; if they did my whole family would probably have them.) Anyway, I know it took them... seven? ish? years of having a green card to be eligible to apply for full citizenship, though, which is its own process that might take any length of time... possibly someone immigrating just within North America might get to skip that long part of the process, or have it expedited, or something but idk.

[soc_puppet]

Y-yeah, I've gathered from other posts by that contributor that Canada has its own problems with race and racism and is not actually a Magical Land of Rainbows, Puppies and Unicorns. And that the Canadian conservatives have taken to complaining about immigrants who had the temerity to be born (gasp!) some shade of brown! And how they're ruining the country for the Noble White Folks! So I'm guessing that my Acceptable Level of Whiteness and moving from a Predominantly Perceived As White country will probably afford me some privilege here, sigh. Though I won't count out geographical convenience as a possible factor ;)

[meigui]

Well... yeah, every place has its issues! I've had some Asian Canadian friends, who... yes. Issues. Some of them a lot worse than what I got as a kid in North Carolina, although I was living in a college town at the time so it's not exactly like the rest of the American South. Eh, what can you do?

[zidane.livejournal.com]

Come to the Green Party. We have (organic, fair-trade) cookies.

[soc_puppet]

I like that (delicious sounding!) plan.

[asrimal.livejournal.com]

This sort of thing is par for the course for Democrats.

[soc_puppet]

Pardon my political naivete, then. Having become Politically Aware in the Bush Years, I couldn't help but want to believe in that "hope and change" nonsense.

[asrimal.livejournal.com]

Nah, I'm not saying anything against you. I came into political awareness during the Bush years too and I believed it too and felt that after Bush that we could actually have some progress, it's just that in the past year we've seen nothing but in-fighting and floundering at the legislative and executive level. It's very disappointing.

[soc_puppet]

In which case, allow me to say that this is more of a "straw that broke the camel's back" situation than my open letter seemed to imply.

[asrimal.livejournal.com]

Mm.

[qable.livejournal.com]

The thing with the health care issue is that I'd like it to pass, even if it does have issues that'd make anyone with common sense angry. It can always be altered later, and we get a shot at health care reform once every 15-20 years. If it doesn't pass now, a baby born tomorrow won't see another chance at reform until she's nearly an adult.

Do I appreciate the othering of my uterus? No. Do I think health care reform needs to pass, if only to set up a precedent for further reform? Hell yes.

[vitani]

This.

And I'm staying here because if I don't, I can't help change it.

[soc_puppet]

The US is keeping me for another two years or so regardless, since that's at least how long it'll take me to become a Canadian citizen if I start pretty much right this minute.

Incidentally, in two years, I'll also no longer be covered by my parents' insurance, and the Iowa state constitutional amendment to do away with gay marriage will go up for vote. If things haven't gotten better by then, I almost certainly will want out. If they have, I can change my mind, I'm sure.

[vitani]

I really believe it will be. Things are getting better, just not as quickly as we might like, and many of the things being worked on now will show their results then.

Either way, Canada is not something I personally consider an option.

[soc_puppet]

All things told, I'm aware that the Stupak amendment may not even make it through the Senate/House merger. And, other than that main issue, I'm pretty sure I'd be okay with the bill in question - or what becomes of it. Possibly.

I'm still done with the Democratic Party as a whole, though.

[websofseaweed.livejournal.com]

Just...a-fucking-men to this whole rant. In all honesty, the party that most appeals to me is the Peace and Freedom Party - although they have a fat chance of winning anything. Bah.

[soc_puppet]

They look lovely :) I mean, they're down a few things here and there (not finding Trans* rights/gender identity equality at the moment, sadface), but as compared to some? Quite nice indeed. 'Specially if they've got a good track record.

The point of voting for them, though, will be that my vote goes to something I believe in almost completely. And if the "winning" parties want my vote, they'll have to change to get it.

[moebot.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be, unfortunately, That Guy right now and just say... I can't believe the American government is still even discussing this. it just seems so behind. Although, I should point out that Canada is not all roses and raibows, either, depending in what part of Canada you end up with/in.

[soc_puppet]

Can I be a That Guy, too? I mean, if that's the sort of points you get to make as a That Guy, it sounds like a fun person to be.

Yeah, I'm not exactly expecting moving to Canada to be the magic pill that somehow Fixes Everything for me. But if I do my research and get to the right place, I should at least not be much worse off than I am now.

[moebot.livejournal.com]

Although they're more expensive, the big Canadian cities tend to be the most liberal and diverse, so I'd suggest places like Toronto or Vancouver, depending on which coast is closer to you. Maybe Montreal (although that's in Quebec, which means that you'd have to know or learn Quebecois French).

[soc_puppet]

Being in Iowa, the coasts are about equidistant :P I was planning on picking up French again regardless, so Quebecois French would just make things more difficult complicated interesting and fun, hopefully? Maybe I could find a fandom that's written primarily in that dialect...

[cucarache.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of 1980, when my wife and I voted for John Anderson for president. Anderson was a third party candidate. When we mentioned this to one of my sisters-in-law, we were promptly berated. "A vote for John Anderson is the same thing as a vote for Ronald Reagan, because it's not a vote for Carter!" And you know, I took it to heart. We can stand up for the ideals in which we believe and thereby throw away our votes uselessly on nonviable candidates or issues, or we can compromise our beliefs and try to get the best deals we can. I was not happy with Barack Obama when I cast my vote a year ago, but I was a whole lot less unhappy with Obama than I was with John McCain. Life (and politics) is not all black and white; it is a great mass of grey shades. Well, do as you feel you should, that's the best course; I'm just saying that the best way to pursue what you want may sometimes involve setting aside for the moment things you'd much rather not set aside. *shrugs*

[soc_puppet]

This isn't just compromising my beliefs; this is compromising the legal, legitimate health care options of over half the US population.

Considering I'll be setting aside the things I want either way, I think I'll vote with what I believe in instead. Anyone "viable" wants my vote, they can damn well -give- me what I want. Otherwise, they can go suck eggs.