Those in power have been grooming us to be spectators for quite some time. We continually watch the political theatre of modern politics, now presented to us 24/7 in full color on TV and in other media. Our weeks are often defined by what our favorite teams are doing that week. We are consumers of whatever those in power convince us we should purchase. Even war is presented to us that way. All of these events are presented to us as "happening out there", apparently beyond our control with us simply making them the topic of our speculation and gossip. Life is presented to us as entertainment.
Those in power would have us forget that we are citizens within a democracy and that our voices matter. In fact, our voices should be the determining factor in what this nation does and the direction it takes for our futures. They would have us think of elections as spectator sports, watching the polls, placing a few bets with our campaign donations, and then sitting back to see who wins each race. They assume that we will just go back to our ordinary lives after the elections without another thought. They think that as spectators we will go home jubilant if we win or disappointed if we lose, but that our lives will go on, accepting the outcome. They think we will see the election as merely another game, being relatively meaningless in the scheme of things and that we will go back into our passive and submissive ways.
This is what those in power have been training us to do for a long time and they assume that is how we will continue to act. They assume we have forgotten what it means to be an American citizen or that we have simply become too complacent to do anything about it.
Well, it is time to surprise them!
We will stand up and be participants in this election!
Why?
 · Because this election is about whether we are willing to accept violence and intimidation as a political tool replacing voting, elections and the rule of law.
 · Because this election is about rejecting chaos as a means of running this nation instead of abiding by the processes of democracy that we have fought for and built over the life of this nation.
 · Because we want to connect to some coherent signposts of reality like rational thought, verifiable facts, science and medicine and the wisdom of our history.
 · Because we are not willing to turn our nation and our lives over to leaders who serve only themselves and not the people of this nation.
 · Because our elections cannot be purchased with huge infusions of cash and questionable attack ads.
They have miscalculated. They believe we will simply allow democracy to be discarded.
They have forgotten about the American Spirit which is always resilient and ready to do what is necessary to preserve our democracy and our nation.
Let's give them a shock on election day. Let's show them that their assumptions about our willingness to be mere spectators in this election are wrong.
Surprise them! Vote overwhelmingly to retain democracy!
