Alexa and I are going to be taking the temperature of the nation over the next weeks to decide whether we’ll stay. We are Jewish. Though we’re not on the top of the list this time — that dubious honor belongs to the Mexicans and the Muslims — with a president-elect supported by the KKK and the anti-Semitic “alt right,” we’re definitely still on it. We’ve seen as much through Trump supporters going after Jewish journalists on Twitter, calling them kikes, telling them to get ready for the ovens, etc. So we need to see if it will remain safe for us here. Trump’s campaign gave voice to something terrible. My concern is that his election has legitimized it.
I was inspired by a conversation with friends about politics (I know!) to do something I’ve never done before. I started a petition at WhiteHouse.gov! The petition’s request? To add a “None Of The Above” option to all primary and general election ballots! Here’s the text of the petition:
Add a “None Of The Above” option to all primary and general election ballots.
Low voter turnout is often blamed on the apathy of the American voter, but that’s not true. Many Americans are simply disgusted with the choice of candidates we’re given in our elections, which leads scores of voters to stay home on election day. It also forces voters who still wish to participate to choose what they consider to be the lesser of two evils, rather than leaders who inspire them.
Offering a non-binding “None Of The Above” option would drive up turnout by allowing voters to voice their dissatisfaction with the choices they’re given. It would also send a clear message to the election winners that they do not have the mandate of the people that they so often think they do.
For these reasons, let’s add a “None Of The Above” option to all primary and general election ballots.
I would have gone into more detail if I could, but they only allow you a certain amount of space to write in, which is probably smart considering who writes some of these petitions. One thing I would have liked to add is what I mean by non-binding, which is basically that if the “None Of the Above” option gets more votes than the winning candidate, it doesn’t mean the election is forfeit and the primaries have to start all over again with different candidates. While that may sound pretty good in theory, in practice it would be a nightmare.
Anyway, this is the link to the petition itself. Please read it, sign it, and share it with your friends! We need 100,000 signatures by March 11th!
They said Saddam Hussein worked with Al-Qaeda to coordinate 9/11. They were wrong.
They said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. They were wrong.
They said we would be greeted as liberators. They were wrong.
They said the war would be over in a matter of weeks or months, not years. They were wrong.
They said the war would pay for itself in oil revenue. They were wrong.
They said PFC Jessica Lynch had been raped by her captors. They lied to us, knowingly.
They said the insurgency was in its death throes in 2005. They were wrong.
They said they were not torturing Iraqi prisoners. They lied to us, knowing.
They said extremists would flee the area, not congregate to it. They were wrong.
Someone remind me why we should be interested in their opinions again now?
