My Thoughts on (S)election 2016
If there's one thing that we can certainly applaud and appreciate about Donald Trump, it's the way in which he - much like his predecessor - denied Hillary Clinton the White House. Of course, I would've preferred for the ballots to remain blank while the people of America self-organize and implement capitalism's replacement. But for those not ready for self-ownership and who just couldn’t help themselves but to choose a new ruler, then Gloria LaRiva or Jill Stein were easily the most appealing. Though in the context of Wall Street hegemony and Pentagon pre-approval, where the so-called viable candidates are both ruling-class criminals, I tend to favor the one whose hands aren't stained with Global South blood. It just so happens that in 2016 America, that person wears the mantle of neo-fascism the way Heathen Hillary wears pants suits. And just as it was important to look past the brilliant, handsome, surface-level appeal of Obama, it’s just as essential to look beyond the foolish, bigoted exterior of Trump so as not to be distracted from the big picture.
While campaign promises are seemingly made to be broken, President-elect Trump has been to the left of Secretary Clinton in several key areas; healthcare, war, trade, just to name a few. Whether or not he fulfills those promises remains to be seen. What’s already been seen, however, is the warmongering nature of another Clinton administration. Consider the Bush/Obama era as exhibit A, during which Hillary was instrumental. Of course, Hillary's rhetoric was more presidential (read: politically correct), so she was inexplicably cast as the "lesser evil" versus Trump. And very much to my delight, the electorate didn't fall for it. The woman's record of service to empire makes her more deserving of a prison cell than the Oval Office.
But now what? Let liberals tell it, shit will officially hit the fan come January 2017. Though for anyone who's paid attention over the past 16 years or so, not much change is expected in the way of policy. Democrats and Republicans alike serve the same capitalist, imperialist interests, and have been doing so for decades. I think the fears of (increased) fascism are well-warranted, especially given the extrajudicial, unconstitutional precedents with which President Obama has equipped a President Trump. When Trump secretly disappears an enemy of the State without charge or trial, remember that it was Obama who signed NDAA 2012 into law. When President Trump sends more brown bodies to Guantanamo Bay, remember that it was President Peace Prize who failed to close the facility. When families are more torn apart than ever by Donald Trump's immigration policy, remember that deportations reached all-time record levels under Barack Obama. The groundwork has been set. And it was Democrats who poured the concrete. Remember that.
In the meantime, we continue mission. We continue to question, we continue to challenge and we continue to disobey authority; be it government or otherwise. We continue to exercise solidarity with marginalized and targeted groups. We continue our transition away from detrimental ideas and toward those that actually serve our species and planet. We continue to honor our ancestors by growing, by building, and by loving one another more and more each day. But, above all, we celebrate. We rejoice at the last throes of a dying republic, a decaying empire in its decline, where the lumpenproletariat has just put into office the world's most powerful clown.
Welcome to Babylon.
