AMONG 270 REASONS, HERE IS MINE…  

By Chris M. Barkley:

“Mankind will reach maturity on the day it learns to value diversity—of life and ideas. To be different is not necessarily to be ugly; to have a different idea is not necessarily to be wrong. The worst thing that could happen is for all of us to look and think and act alike.”

— Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry

If there’s one important thing I have learned being in fandom over the past four plus decades, it’s that people who state that politics has no place in any form of science fiction, fantasy or horror, are incredibly inattentive or devoid of being aware of the content they’re reading, watching or hearing.

They are people who love, love, LOVE seeing blaster duels, bodies, machines or planets being dismembered in various ways and cool spaceships doing cool maneuvers.

Those of us in the know, KNOW that the literary works of H.G. Wells, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Heinlein, Joanna Russ, Samuel R. Delany and Iain M. Banks (among many, many others) are just saturated with political context.

And so do the most well known works of visual sff, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Babylon 5 and yes, even Star Wars, have some level political action in their narratives.

I daresay that anyone reading this right now is well aware that America’s federal and local Election Day is fast approaching and the level of anxiety about the possible outcomes, on all sides of the political spectrum, are well into the red zone. America has been polarized along social, economic and political lines for several decades now, fed by the fear of ourselves, or neighbors and immigrants seeking the safety of our borders from tyranny abroad.

And as well informed as I am, I am not immune from swinging on the emotional pendulum swinging from hope to hopelessness with every passing day.

Last week, and quite by a fortuitous accident while researching another subject online, I came across the 270 Reasons website.

Here is the mission statement from the submission link:

                                                    Why 270 Reasons?

A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election. Over the next few weeks, we’ll present 270 reasons why Harris and Walz need to get those electoral votes. We are not affiliated with the Harris/Walz campaign in any way, but we do believe that four more years of Trump will shred the fabric of this country and will irrevocably divide its people.

So maybe you have a loved one or friend or colleague who still needs evidence that a Harris/Walz administration would be preferable to four more years of Trump. Maybe you know a new voter who is just beginning to focus on the election. Or maybe you yourself are weighing the pros and cons. 

Please send any or all of these essays to an undecided voter in your life, or amplify these essays with social media.

As of today (October 24, 2024) one hundred and fifty authors, scholars and academics, musicians, scientists, actors, podcasters, artists and ordinary citizens have posted why they are voting for Kamala Harris instead of Donald Trump.

Several members of our extended community such as Charlie Jane Anders, George Saunders, Percival Everett, Ridley Pearson, Noah Hawley, Margaret Atwood and Jess Walter all contributed short essays and observations.

And a few days ago, I decided to join them.

Donald Trump is Selling Fear, Kamala Harris Says Stop Buying It

When Donald J. Trump came down the escalator in New York City in 2015, I just assumed, as many of us did, that this was just another variation of one of his vanity stunts to expand his brand (and, of course, his ego).

We should have known better; his sickening style of hyperbole, exaggerated importance of himself, diminishment of the vital issues of the day and outright lies about his qualifications for the office were very evident to those of us who could see right through him and see the soulless beast within.

And we underestimated him; he bullied and blustered his way through the Republican field of opponents to the GOP nomination and we thought that would be the end of it. Surely Hillary Clinton would blow this selfish, narcissistic clown off the stage…and we were wrong.

He established a new brand, Make America Great Again. He sold this insidious, anti-democratic screed with loathing, scorn and most of all, fear. 

Fear of immigrants, fear of rampant crime, fear of the LGBTQI+ community, fear of everyone and anyone who would oppose him or his idea of a “perfect union”, a country run by white supremacists, rich oligarchs, racist sycophants and with him as their monarch.

And on November 8th, 2016, America went all in on fear.

And we’ve seen the results of his first term of his “presidency”: the loss of reproductive rights for all, the gross human rights violations of minorities, the degradation of the environment, the constant denial of climate change,  the encouragement of voter suppression at the state level, the nomination of unqualified or partisan judges to the federal bench by Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society to do their bidding, the demonization of local election officials who dare to defy him by trying to conduct fair and transparent elections and  openly sneer at the media, law enforcement and legal system when they try to hold him accountable for Trump’s criminal acts, whether they are alleged or in some cases, actually proven.

Trump’s election would grow and extend this nightmare

All of this; the lawlessness, the fascism and fear mongering must come to an end. 

The election of Kamala Harris will not end the partisan and political divisiveness that ails America. But it, along with a majority in the House and Senate, will be an important and vital first step towards restoring a sense that democracy, and the underlying systems that support and nourish it, can prevail and grow.

Fear sells, until we, collectively, stop buying it.

We have no excuse. We know better and now we must do better.

I could have expounded on this even further but it would have been exhaustingly redundant. I made the submission this past Monday and I was notified via email within an hour that it has been accepted and will be posted in the near future.

When I finished writing this, I felt as though a great weight had been lifted from me. My anxiety is still there, but diminished.  If this post makes me one of ‘the enemy within” America by Trump and his allies, so be it. I will wear it as a dissident badge of honor.

But they should know that if they come for me, I will fight. For my family, for my friends, for my country and the Constitution of the United States which I have sworn to protect on several occasions in my lifetime. 

Far be it from me that I should tell any of you how you should vote in the upcoming election. But I do feel it is important to let you know where I stand at this important crossroads of our history.

I urge everyone who has an urgent and abiding interest in the future direction of our constitutional republic to exercise your right to vote. Either by absentee ballot or early voting or in person on election day at your county (or parish) election board, vote.

Vote wisely as though your life, your family and friends lives and the fate of our society and country depends on it. 

Because today, it sure as hell does.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

–Margaret Mead