Congratulations—you voted! You’ve taken part in an important American tradition that upholds what America really stands for. Let’s take a few minutes to look at what this great nation is all about and how you’ve helped keep our sacred values alive and strong.

Election time is when we unite together as Americans, recognizing that when it comes to participating in elections, we have much in common with each other. After all, both parties and their candidates work to maintain the same system. Regardless of which party you voted for, you’ve voted to support:

War and Occupation!

Whether Iraq or Afghanistan, war will continue under either candidate. McCain will maintain the occupation of Iraq, while Obama will widen the occupation of Afghanistan. Either route will ensure more murder and more atrocities in the name of “freedom.” And, of course, there are always new invasions and new occupations on the horizon!

Imperialism!

Both McCain and Obama, and the parties they represent, will do all they can to make sure that America continues to seek dominance in every area of the globe. Depending on the specifics of a given situation, imperialism will come in the form of violence, military aggression, economic force, and political influence to ensure that America stays on top. And if these don’t work, our elected officials can always employ the tried and true American tradition of using the CIA to overthrow democratically elected administrations that refuse to serve as foreign puppets for U.S. imperialism.

Domestic Surveillance!

Both candidates for the presidency voted to implement the FISA
Amendment Act of 2008, which grants the federal government increased power to spy domestically without warrants. It also gives retroactive impunity to communication corporations that assisted in illegal domestic surveillance during the Bush administration. And, hey, who can blame them? The more we are encouraged through surveillance to self-police ourselves, the more free time police have to put down dissent!

Capitalism!

Have no fear—both candidates will pursue the U.S.’s quest for the expansion of predatory global capitalism and free trade. With either administration, the U.S. will work to ensure that corporations continue to reap huge profits from the labor and resources of others. Of course, it is easier to exploit the oppressed, so much attention will be given to destabilizing and taking advantage of third world economies and populations under the thumb of U.S. backed regimes, using sweatshops, paramilitaries, the institutions of global capitalism (like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank), and other means of control to further dominance.

Here at home, our lives will continue to become increasingly isolated. Authentic communities are a threat to capitalism and therefore an unfair obstacle to profit. As true community continues to disappear, capitalism will lead the honorable fight to commodify everything around us. In the meantime, let’s keep consuming in an effort to create meaning in our empty lives. It doesn’t hurt to watch a little television when we come home exhausted from work. But don’t forget to vote!

Corporate Power!

And, remember, it’s not just any capitalism but corporate capitalism that these candidates support. Both McCain and Obama voted for the $700 billion bailout. The merger of state and corporate power isn’t socialism, as some suggest—it’s fascism.

And have you ever looked at who funds these candidates’ campaigns? Would it surprise you to learn that the weapons manufacturing industry has given more money to the Democratic than the Republican campaign this election cycle? Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and other war profiteers are just making sure that their missiles will sell regardless of which figurehead sits at the top of this corporate, imperialist machine. Likewise, major investment banks and financial corporations—like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Morgan Stanley—heavily fund both parties, guaranteeing their corporate interests are covered whether a Democrat or Republican becomes president.

The Occupation of Palestine!

Both parties and both candidates are committed to maintaining the occupation of Palestine. 60 years is apparently not enough. As Israel continues to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank and uses the construction of the separation wall to annex more and more Palestinian land, both Obama and McCain provide unequivocal support of the occupation and the U.S.’s financial and political role in its continuation.

Militarization of the Border and Criminalization of Immigrants!

While the candidates may vocalize a moderately different approach to immigration, immigrants will continue to be criminalized, families separated, and people imprisoned and deported. ICE will continue its workplace and house raids, terrorizing people based on ethnic background and the spelling of their last name. All the while, either candidate will make sure the border becomes increasingly militarized. Creating a whole population of scapegoats to terrorize, imprison, and dehumanize is one way for a fascist state to cement power.

Thanks for voting and remember—by dutifully playing our role in maintaining the system as it is, we can change the world!

brought to you by volunteers of the CWF (Capitalism and War Forever)

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Instead of relying on representatives to make decisions which affect us and our communities, we can organize locally, in the real sense of grassroots democracy (not the co-opted term that the Democratic Party is using as propaganda), to address our own needs and desires. Direct action and mutual aid are two tools that we can use to do this.

Direct action means solving problems ourselves—without asking, begging, or petitioning authority. It’s working without representation, actively achieving our own goals through our own actions. Mutual aid is a way of existing with each other, of relating to each other, which focuses on voluntary aid and cooperation that is mutually beneficial to all involved. This becomes possible when we create communities that are truly communities, in which actions that are good for your neighbor are good for you. This kind of interconnected and interdependent community depends on us transforming the ways in which we relate to ourselves, each other, and the world in which we find ourselves.