In preparation for the election in November, Bush and Kerry are each trying to convince voters that he and his party are the better warriors. As the carnage in iraq goes on, with the abuse and murder of non-combatants and prisoners by the american military there, Kerry is making it clear that, if elected, he will continue the occupation and do his best to expand the military.
Most of the opponents of the war who vote will, of course, vote for the democrats, despite their pro-war positions. Too many believe there is an important difference between the parties and will thus try to elect Kerry the war-monger because of their hatred for Bush the war-monger.
During the last democrat presidency, the united states military invaded haiti, bombed innocent people in serbia, sudan, and afghanistan, and continued the bombing and sanction campaign that devastated and impoverished iraq, resulting in the deaths of thousands of regular people. In fact, during most of the decade preceding the September 2001 murder by airplane of hundreds of people in new york and pennsylvania, it was democrats who controlled the american military and foreign policy establishment. It was their meddling in the affairs of other countries created the loathing for the united states government that led to these killings. Meanwhile, at home, Clinton did his best to get his own version of the patriot act passed in order to make it easier for the government to monitor residents of america who speak out against government murder and repression.
Whatever their differences, and there are some, the parties are united in their contempt for individual freedom and their dedication to violence to get what they want. It is foolhardy for anyone to believe that a democrat president will end the war, free the prisoners held and abused in secret in iraq, cuba, or the “homeland,” or make anyone more free. By voting, people simply strengthen the institutions of government and give aid and comfort to the enemies of liberty. The time spent campaigning for Kerry (or Nader or Sharpton or Kucinich) by those who seek an end to war and a freer world is being wasted. The state will never be a friend of freedom or a force for peace. Even if the candidates were motivated by the best intentions, which is clearly not the case, they could not accomplish good ends by using the evil means which would be at their disposal as president. Taxation, the police, the military, and the laws, rules, and regulations by which the lives of people both here and abroad are ordered, restricted, and sometimes ended, are what make government what it is. Force and violence are its lifeblood, and nobody elected to office can change the basic nature of politics and government. Nobody can use the military, police, and legal system, institutions based on hierarchy, servile obedience, and violence, to expand anyone’s freedom. Only by abolishing government can we advance the cause of liberty.
Nobody who runs for office will end the war, abolish taxes, dismantle the FBI, or make you free. So don’t waste your time, vote for nobody.