VOTE (LIVE) 
AS IF YOUR LIFE (VOTE)
DEPENDS ON IT

We are in a bad situation, a situation not of our choosing, painted into a corner once again. But I say, friends, with the greatest conviction and enthusiasm, I am going to cast my ballot for Hillary Clinton! I have been voting in elections since 1968, the beginning of the long turn to mediocracy in the election cycle. It is a deliberately constructed mediocrity, a fabric of denial, compromise, and opportunism. Democracy is impossible, but it must be preserved! The most important thing we must do is fight the eruption of fascism in all its forms. American polity is shot through with undemocratic tendencies—is that what makes it democratic? The situation is only getting worse. Once started, political irrationalism spreads like wildfire. It is a condition of language, where words are detached from their referents and free-floating desire makes any interpretation out of them it likes. Behind these words are narcissistic identifications and hateful abjections. We have not seen anything like it in our lifetime. Looking out the window, it is a beautiful fall day in the suburbs, the traffic is flowing regularly downtown, there are mild signs of hope among the populace, life is good! The worst is over, the worst is yet to come. Here is why I am going to cast my ballot for Hillary Clinton and as many down-ballot Democrats as I can identify:

1. Anti-fascism! A vote for Clinton is a vote against planting the seeds of fascist psychology among the unsuspecting masses. There must be decisive counter-measures to stop this threat, and a vote for Clinton is tactically the only available option. Vote Clinton!
2. Women’s emancipation! A vote for Clinton is a vote for the continuing emancipation of women, and is framed against the most stunning public misogyny we have witnessed. We must put an end to the “normalization” of this hateful personality disorder. Vote Clinton!
3. Anti-racism and defense of immigrants rights! Decisive action is needed in the public sphere to counter the emergence of racist, xenophobic, Know-Nothing politics and psychology. Again, we must end the “normalization” of this violently depraved discourse. Vote Clinton!
4. Long live Occupy and the Sanders campaign! To the extent that anti-capitalist and anti-Wall Street politics are a verifiable part of the Clinton campaign, she deserves support. Vote Clinton!
5. End war mongering and military adventurism! We must bring our criticisms of foreign policy adventurism to the only party that will listen to them. The alternative is an aggressive, bullying, reactive, xenophobic, America First politics that will lead to world catastrophe. Vote but criticize Clinton!
6. Reject left sectarianism! We do not give up our right to pursue politics to the left of the election cycle. A vote for Clinton is an immediate tactical necessity. Criticize the left!

This is the position I am taking. It is not a matter of indifference. The election is decisive in more ways than we can yet understand. Fight fascism, end the denigration of women, racism, and xenophobia, continue to pursue social justice in the spirit of Occupy, #blacklivesmatter, and the Sanders campaign, and be vigilant toward the excesses of American military adventurism. Vote Clinton and encourage others to do so as well!