Why I Am Voting For President Obama

Imagine the world that we would like to leave for our grandchildren. Then consider whether your vote may enhance the likelihood of that world coming to pass, or spoil it, perhaps forever. As I look at the various elements of the Democratic and Republican agendas, it is obvious to me that electing democrats to office is vital to this nation's future.

The long-term republican agenda is for a few to prosper while the many suffer; the Democratic agenda is to broaden the middle class and create opportunities for social mobility in the way it was so successfully done before: through the graduated income tax.

The Republican agenda is to force the social conscripts of Christian fundamentalism on all of us; the democratic agenda is to maintain a secular society with religious freedom for all.

The Republican agenda is to exploit for profit whatever materials lie within or atop the earth without regard to the effect upon the environment or natural and human populations; the Democratic agenda is to admit that global warming has been scientifically proved, and to promote development of new energy sources that will not endanger the future of nature and humankind.

The Republican agenda is to limit the freedom of women to choose as they wish; the Democratic agenda assumes that women have all the human rights that men do, and specifically that rights pertinent to their particular physical differences are theirs alone to determine.

The Republican agenda is to consider immigrants criminals, even if they came here as innocent children, and have grown up as Americans, contributed to our society, even fought in our conflicts; the Democratic agenda is to give those who come from other lands the chance to be among those generations of people who settled this country and built this democracy and made it great.

The Republican agenda is to boast of our strength and spend the majority of our treasure on the ability to annihilate any nation that threatens us or our corporations' financial interests; the Democratic agenda is to take our place as a leader among the nations of the world, accepting our responsibility to assist in emergencies, promote human rights, and accept that we do not compel other nations to our views, but rather promote friendship and mutual interests through diplomacy.

The Republican agenda is to consider education, health and efforts to eliminate poverty as “discretionary” spending, and military spending as “non-discretionary,” and further, to eliminate “discretionary” spending while increasing military spending even when the military itself doesn't want it; the Democratic agenda is to consider health a right, not a privilege, and education a right, not just a privilege, and military spending necessary only to the extent that our nation is permanently secure.

The Republican agenda is to consider that the ends justify the means, a terrible chime that has rung through history, that untruths that may lead to victory are justifiable, that different messages for different audiences are justifiable, that attempting to limit access to the ballot box to your own followers is justifiable; the Democratic agenda is to debate issues based on their value to society versus what sacrifices are required to achieve them.

Lastly, there is the character of the candidates themselves. Mr. Romney is the person who led gang violence against gays in his teens, pretended to be a police officer for the fun of it in his twenties, lied throughout his life and campaigns whenever it was it was useful for him to do so, and changed his position on any topic whenever it would benefit him. Mr. Obama has never demonstrated racism or cruelty to anyone, had steadfastly maintained his positions on issues, and has not resorted to lies about his opponents or his own history.

I will vote for Barack Obama on election day, because the world I want for my grandchildren and their grandchildren would be impossible to achieve if the Republican agenda comes to pass. It may not be possible at all, but it should have a chance.