Learning the value of a meaningful vote, core to democracy

This week amongst the din of Mueller's investigation of all things Trump & Russia, where the fate of Deputy Attorney General appeared to be at stake, there was the Kavanaugh drama played out on national TV, and in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That confrontation unleashed among other things,  the purposely forgotten 1980's, a time where decadence and open sexual perversion ruled, owing to excessive abuse of  drugs and alcohol consumption. My own recollection of that type of decadence goes back to the mid 70's when as a member of an unsupervised, entitled riddled, fraternity at a Big Ten school, I witnessed sophomoric young men purposely seeking to get young college-aged women drunk, where they hoped to take sexual advantage over them. There were a few occasions when those pursuits led to multiple males having their sexual fantasies made with an inebriated girl. My friends and I did not participate in those pursuits, and by the end of my sophomore year, many of us left the frat, even though I admit I was heavy into partying. Later in life, when I caught up with a few of my old frat brothers their attitude towards women remained, regardless of their station in life.

Then I recalled that back in the 80's when my soon to be wife and I, entered into "serious relationship", one that is now 34 years and ongoing, she confided with me that among her other boyfriends,which she was informing me that she was dropping, (I called it affectionately the Saturday Night Massacre), was a one guy named Kim. He was a married man, who would come into Chicago once or twice a month, possessing a fancy sports car that he maintained exclusively in Chicago, even as he lived in another state. They had gone out a number of times, he being at least fifteen years older, a corporate executive at a Fortune 100 company, where he would entertain her with good times going to shows and fancy restaurants that included unlimited drink or even cocaine.

What was quite worrisome is that she told me that on the the last two dates, she would have a "black out", awaking in a strange hotel bed not knowing where she was or what had happened. She always awoke naked, knew there was sex and her hangover was far worse than ever before. Even though after being told that my wife was now in a serious relationship, he phoned one evening. And as we sat together watching a rented VHS movie, my then future wife quickly admonished him and told him to never call her again. She then said it was not the first time he called after she cut him off earlier.

The next day I found that S.O.B.'s  office number at his corporate headquarters, as any good headhunter can do. I phoned him and powerfully told him that if he even called my girlfriend again, let alone try to take her out on one of his "black out" dates, I would find his wife and call her about his affair ways, including the cocaine he used. And further, take my girlfriend to the authorities and file a report as to what has happened. He, of course, denied everything, and even attempted to turn it around saying my future wife was the one who wanted to get wasted and have fun. He never called again, nor was heard of either. Until years later when we learned from one of my wife's extended friends, that this Kim had died in a late night drunken, automobile crash, in his sports car, reportedly driving over 100 mph on an suburban highway. The crash included being with another young women.

That personal story underscores the bigger picture where America is seeing the value of a meaningful vote by Senator Flake, Republican of Arizona, who suddenly dissented from his tribe, to demand a delay in the Senate confirmation vote of Kavanaugh. Voting, if is to be meaningful, must reflect a deep principled inner belief of the individual, where sometimes it can be wrenching, and unpopular, but nonetheless a true expression conscience. Flake, supported by three others and a few of his democratic colleagues is now outside the protection his tribe. All this I too personally experienced as a Presidential Elector in December 2016. Known as Hamilton Electors, we are now in the final stages of our Appeal in the 10th District Federal Court where we are seeking to reestablish and affirm the right of Electors, to cast a meaningful vote for President.

When I sought to dissent from the party tribalism I was attacked not only from the Republican state officers, but also personally by my Democratic party compatriots. Eventually the reality was that if I voted my conscience my vote would be stricken from the record and I would be subject to prosecution, which boiled down that the votes of Colorado Electors were actually the wishes of our state government and not constitutional electors.  In Flake's case his vote cannot be stripped, nor prosecuted for, but he can be subjected to personal threats and intimidation. We considered the Electoral College vote a fundamental constitutional right as is the Senator's vote.

One other personal connection to all this DC drama is that there appears to be political manipulation of veiled interference with the subsequent FBI investigation. These behind the scenes political manipulations are similar with our experiences we had in the Electoral College. It continues in the pattern of the Republican Party's absence of possessing any ethical boundaries, utilizing any and all made up governing mechanisms to keep or expand their power. Then, after prevailing, they will then take all measures of justifying their tactical win as being ordained by a normal function of democracy, including lying. That of course is another manipulation of  all American truth.

As you go forward towards this year's voting, remember that your vote needs to be meaningful. Tribalists will justify their vote as meaningful, but in reality it only means they are blindly loyal to  one tribe or another. Many who are identified with one political tribe or another, but are appalled by the results, must rethink that association as I tried to do in December 2016 when I publicly declared I wanted to cast a vote for Republican Governor, Dennis Kasich,, as an expression of country over party. That effort sought to find a way to join with Republican dissenters and to throw the Electoral College into the Congress.

Dissenting votes are meaningful, often more so than those of the majority when the situation becomes dire, even if they don't carry the day, they often lead to later events where an immoral or unethical political policies are overturned. It is why Supreme Court and Appellate Court dissenting opinions are published.

To conclude, this week was a heavy experience. The nation watched wretched testimonies, first, a woman having to publicly express her horrific experience followed by a sitting judge go absolutely partisan and displaying total lack of decorum and with the absence and regard for the whole truth, nothing but the truth, all was mind blowing. For my wife and I, it also dusted off purposely forgotten memories of youthful inebriation, coupled with immoral sexual exploits by sophomoric males which ironically is connected to recent political events of this corrupt regime. This coincidental crossing comes as we all approach the national mid-term election.

Voting is the essential act for a functioning democracy. where ideally every citizen has an equal voice and it's assumed that each voter is free to and will cast a meaningful vote. We know that in reality this is not true. Many, for whatever emotional or psychological reasons, abstain or pass off on making a meaningful vote. Some voters are absolutely tribal, casting of their votes blindly denying the fact that their tribe might be wholly corrupted by working against the interests of maintaining a functional democracy or its welfare. This is the power of identification politics and how psychological warfare is politicized. But the belief and hope is that the majority of voters, especially in times like these, will cast meaningful votes and therefore amassing the difference to challenge and overturn a corrupt and immoral regime. It is why our founding fathers believed in power of democracy as the only defense against tyranny.