For me this election doesn’t fall into the “lesser evil” game.  Obama goes beyond being an “evil” and is helping to open doors and air pent up feelings and hopes that have been dampened for so many years.  He has tapped into the spirit of young people, which is beautiful to see.  For years we’ve been talking about the importance of the youth so I think it’s coherent now to support that expression. Then there’s the fact that he’s a first generation African, which could drastically change things.  Look what Evo has done for the indigenous peoples around the world.

I agree about the problem of corporate power (and global capital even more). But the problem we face is that unless the left gains more influence, the right will continue to call the shots, at great cost in human life and suffering. Its a real dilemma because the humanist principles of non-violence, social justice and equal opportunity don’t have enough influence and events are moving rapidly in a direction that seems to be very dangerous. This is a process in which we are all included, and if the direction doesn’t change soon, the possibility for change could become even more limited.

Finally, our support for Obama has more to do with what’s happening at the base, with young people and new voters and a much more grass roots campaign than Clinton’s, which is truly dominated by the party machinery. In this sense, we are betting on the movement, not the man. Even if Obama is beholden to corporate support, his base is not. Where this will take us nobody knows, but new possibities exist like we haven’t seen in decades.  

Moreover, in an early debate Obama said that he would attack Iran, which brings into serious question how different his policies would be from the current administration.

Aside from mavericks like Kucinich and Gravel in the Democratic Party, which is as strongly influenced by corporate money as the Republicans, real Progressives have other alternatives, such as the Green Party. Cynthia McKinney, a 5-term Congresswoman from Georgia, also voted against the war. Additionally, the Green Party accepts NO corporate donations whatsoever, leaving it free of strings in policy decisions.

A tremendous part of the problem with politics in the United States is the habit of choosing the lesser of two evils. These choices only perpetuate the same evil choices. To create change, it is necessary to do something different.

http://www.runcynthiarun.org

Indeed this world needs urgently a change, and the US can play a fundamental role in this change, promoting dialogue and understanding instead of confrontation. Hopefully you suceed in waking up the best in the people of your great country, making the USA a friend of humanity and not the worst enemy. May Barak Obama win and lead the USA towards a path of Nonviolence!