Elections are about so much more than candidates. Terence Crutcher, a black man murdered this week by police sworn to protect his life (and countless more needlessly lost Black lives every day in America), makes that tragically clear.
This election is not about candidates.
I will be voting for Hillary Clinton (and other candidates who support her) because she has dedicated her life's work to issues I believe in. She speaks knowledgeably, passionately, and from a place of empathy. If her commitment to Civil Rights, accessible Women’s Reproductive Health, Girls' Education, LGBTQ Human rights around the globe, and American Workers' rights aren't enough, please consider this:
Hillary Clinton is speaking out, right now, in anguish over the police shootings of about Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher, two murdered black men murdered for the colors of their skin. Consider what her opponent and his supporters are saying right now. Seriously. Take a moment. Consider the contrast. Then think about your duty in the coming 47 days.
I sit in a position of privilege. If you have the luxury of reading this piece and still feeling the ability to look away, you and I have something in common. We also therefore share the obligation to not look away. We dare not. We dare not.
This election is not about candidates.
This election is about our sisters and brothers whose lives are literally on the line.
This election is about standing together against a worldview that sees refugees as poison, women as objects, guns as idols, black men as expendable, and greed as good.
This is about the fate of your neighbor. And, as Jews have learned and taught with ferocious memory of our own ravaged history, if we do not stand with and for every vulnerable person, it is only a matter of time before you are that vulnerable other. So, if it isn't a sense of justice that will compel you to act, do it for yourself.
The difference between Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher and you is an illusion.
The difference between Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher and you is your living, beating heart.
The difference between Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher and you is a matter of time.
The difference between Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher and you is one vote. Yours.