Vote for Mom

Once upon a time, there was a family: Mom, Dad, and several kids. For a long time, the family was doing pretty well. Yes, there were disagreements along the way, and sometimes Mom and Dad got into huge fights, but for the most part, the parents always put the children first and made sure to do what was best for the family.

Over time, things began to change. Mom and Dad drifted apart, and it was mostly because Dad started worrying more about what was best for Dad instead of the family. He began to give into his worst vices, and eventually the situation got so bad that they split up and were barely amicable towards each other.

Unfortunately, because of the kids, Mom and Dad had to co-exist. Mom still held out some hope that they could work together, and would occasionally extend an olive branch of sorts. Dad would occasionally say the right thing, and make it seem like he was receptive to these advances, but when it came down to it, Dad was all about Dad. More often than not, he would take advantage of those peaceful overtures, and help himself instead of the family.

And then, things got even worse. Dad started hanging out with another woman, and she brought out the absolute worst in him. She enabled and encouraged all of his vices, and led him even further down the dark path he was already on. There were pleas for Dad to leave her, but it soon became clear that this was just who Dad was now.

As for the kids…

Some of the kids still supported Dad. Maybe they did it because they were always on “Team Dad” and still believed that he was the person he used to be. Others actually liked Dad’s new direction. They knew that Dad would let them get away with anything they wanted, and if they lived with him, they could just do whatever they felt like with no concern for the rest of the family.

Some of the other kids knew Dad was bad news, but didn’t think Mom was doing much better. They thought Mom should do more to fight Dad, not realizing that she didn’t have the power to do so, especially since some of the other kids fully supported Dad.

The youngest child became particularly enamored with Mom’s on-again-off-again boyfriend. He would make grand speeches about “the way things should be.” Mom pointed out that the boyfriend could never seem to fully commit to her, and many of his wonderful sounding ideas for the family weren’t realistic.

Most of the other children rejected the boyfriend, but the youngest child didn’t want to hear it. She accused Mom of sabotaging the boyfriend, and said that Mom was being selfish. She believed that when it came down to it, Mom and Dad were really the same, and neither one was doing anything to help the family. She said that if Mom didn’t go along with the boyfriend, then she wasn’t going to help Mom at all.

Finally, there were the other children caught in the middle. They recognize that Mom is far from perfect, but they also know that Dad has proven ruinous for the family. Thankfully, it feels like enough of the children have realized that supporting Mom is the only chance the family has to succeed moving forward. They’ve realized that Mom — imperfect as she may be — can possibly make the family work as it should, as long as they support her.

Unless you’re REALLY bad at following metaphors, you’ve probably figured out that this story has been an allusion to the American political system.

This piece isn’t directed towards anyone who plans to vote for Trump. If the past four years haven’t convinced someone that Trump has been disastrous for the country, then nothing I write will do so either. This piece is for everyone else. If you agree that Trump is ruining this country, then you need to help elect Joe Biden so that we don’t have to endure another four years.

Perhaps just as importantly, you also need help keep the House of Representatives in Democratic control and flip the Senate. If there’s a Congressional battle in your state, then please vote for the Democratic candidate. If we want Biden to enact change, then we need to make sure he has the power and support to actually do so.

The Republicans have shown a consistent desire to place their party above the good of the country. Beyond their continued support of Trump, the Republicans have shown exactly where their priorities lie. Instead of working to give people the support they needed during a pandemic, they chose to ram through another Supreme Court nominee. Mitch McConnell is almost assured to win re-election, but there’s a very real chance that we can neuter his power by making him the minority party leader.

So let’s make sure we vote for Mom. She’s not perfect, but if we want to truly make this country better, she’s the only hope we have.