IN THESE FINAL WEEKS of the 2024 presidential campaign, this NotesBeforeYouVote.com election series will switch it up now and again, tuning in to some harmonic commentary on the fundamental vote coming up Nov. 5, 2024. In a riveting performance of her song “The Lighthouse,” on Saturday Night Live this past week, Stevie Nicks never once mentions the election or the bellicose, orange-haired, aspiring autocrat at its heart. Yet the song is nothing less than a call-to-arms to get into the game. To stand for rights and power that you and we and I thought we had locked in. But all of that now hangs by a thread. As Nicks sings in the clip above (see the entire lyrics at this link)
[Verse 1]
I have my scars, you have yours
Don't let them take your power
Don't leave it alone in the final hours
They'll take your soul, they'll take your power
Don't close your eyes and hope for the best
The dark is out there, the light is going fast
Until the final hours, your life's forever changed
And all the rights that you had yesterday
Are taken away
And now you're afraid
You should be afraid
Should be afraid
[Verse 2]
Because everything I fought for
Long ago in a dream is gone
Someone said the dream is not over
The dream has just begun, or
Is it a nightmare?
Is it a lasting scar?
It is unless you save it and that's that
Unless you stand up and take it back
And take it back …
[ CLICK THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR THE FULL TUNE OR SEE IT ON YOUTUBE ]
WHAT IF YOUR FAMILY IS RABIDLY PRO-TRUMP?
WHO HAS TO KNOW how you vote in the voting booth or by mail-in ballot? If you live in a Trump-or-Die family or community, yet your conscience is deeply troubled or constantly nagged by the man’s seemingly sole commitment to division, aggression, and hatred of other groups — or really anyone who doesn’t bow a knee to his violent talk — then put a smile on your face going into and out of the voting booth. And, then, cast your vote for Kamala Harris. You will help to forever stamp out the possibility of four years of a second Trump regime, in which the U.S. government’s main aim will be bent toward retribution, score-settling, profiteering, and coddling of fellow strongmen, for whom threat, bullying, and restriction of other people’s rights is their native tongue and essential goal.
ELECTIONS MEMES WORTH BORROWING
ARTICLES WORTH READING: “The Moment of Truth”
IN THE NOVEMBER 2024 edition of The Atlantic, writer, retired U.S. War College professor, and former Republican diehard Tom Nichols cuts right to the chase:
… [George] Washington’s life is a story of heroic actions, but also of temptations avoided, of things he would not do. As a military officer, Washington refused to take part in a plot to overthrow Congress. As a victorious general, he refused to remain in command after the war had ended. As president, he refused to hold on to an office that he did not believe belonged to him. His insistence on the rule of law and his willingness to return power to its rightful owners—the people of the United States—are among his most enduring gifts to the nation and to democratic civilization.
Donald Trump and his authoritarian political movement represent an existential threat to every ideal that Washington cherished
Forty-four men have succeeded Washington so far. Some became titans; others finished their terms without distinction; a few ended their service to the nation in ignominy. But each of them knew that the day would come when it would be their duty and honor to return the presidency to the people.
All but one, that is.
Donald Trump and his authoritarian political movement represent an existential threat to every ideal that Washington cherished and encouraged in his new nation. They are the incarnation of Washington’s misgivings about populism, partisanship, and the “spirit of revenge” that Washington lamented as the animating force of party politics. Washington feared that, amid constant political warfare, some citizens would come to “seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual,” and that eventually a demagogue would exploit that sentiment.
Today, America stands at such a moment. A vengeful and emotionally unstable former president—a convicted felon, an insurrectionist, an admirer of foreign dictators, a racist and a misogynist—desires to return to office as an autocrat. Trump has left no doubt about his intentions; he practically shouts them every chance he gets. His deepest motives are to salve his ego, punish his enemies, and place himself above the law. Should he regain the Oval Office, he may well bring with him the experience and the means to complete the authoritarian project that he began in his first term .... | READ ON
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MUSICAL NOTES BEFORE YOU VOTE