the election is only a few days away. many states have already begun early voting, allowing millions of people to cast their ballots. the republicans at every level of government have done their best to suppress voter turnout, to bring into question the legitimacy of ballots cast by mail, and to plant suspicions about the legitimacy of the election process. there is fear that donald trump will refuse to accept the results of the election if things don't go his way and that there will legal challenges to the result that will lead to the supreme court making the final determination about the outcome. this is why trump is determined that his nominee for the vacancy on the court will be confirmed before the election, thereby giving him a court that is more favorable to him.
our democracy has never been in greater peril. already, the judicial system has been transformed into one that is more inclined to side with republican positions. while mr. obama was president, the republican-controlled senate refused to act on his nominees to the courts, leaving many vacancies that were then filled with trump appointees that were speedily confirmed by the senate, often with candidates for the bench who were unqualified. in some states with republican majorities in their legislatures or with republican governors restrictive measures have been passed making it more difficult for people of color to vote. the number of polling stations have been reduced, creating further difficulties for the poor and for black and latino voters to vote. complicated regulations have been adopted in some states so that it will be easier to disqualify mail-in ballots, which are disproportionately cast by democratic voters. all of this is being done to discourage voters more likely to vote for the democratic nominee and to disenfranchise certain segments of the population that tend to vote for democrats.
it appears that mr. biden has a wide lead in the polls and that the electoral college map leans in his favor. the polls tell us that people in the usa are tired of the chaos of the last four years, are weary of the angry and divisive rhetoric coming from the white house, and blame mr. trump for the inept federal response to the covid-19 pandemic. one can only hope that the polls are right. the same pollsters told us that hillary clinton was almost certain to be elected president, and, though she won the popular vote decisively, her defeat in three states that were expected to vote in her favor threw the electoral college vote to mr. trump. many in his own party are campaigning against mr. trump, believing that the nation's democratic institutions will not survive another four years of a trump presidency. the instances of corruption, the flaunting of democratic norms, the willingness to belittle and threaten political opponents, the attacks on the free press, and the sycophantic behavior of the republicans in congress and mr. trump's cabinet members signal a future trump administration that would take the country to heretofore unimagined levels of dictatorial rule.
may we who are eligible to vote do so, overcoming any obstacles that are placed in our path. may we vote to decisively remove mr. trump from office and turn our country around. may we recognize how fragile our democracy is. may we once more work in concert with other nations of the world to improve the lives of all of us. may we turn from an "america-first" vision to one of humanity first. may compassion prevail over hatred and division. shalom.
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