“OMG, it’s all over! We’re doomed! Biden lost the debate!”

But wait, the election is not a debate contest. It’s a choice between two visions of what America is and what it can become. We’re not just electing a person, but a government… and a future.

Of course I wish Biden had performed better Thursday night, but we’re not choosing “debater of the year.” It’s We The People who’re being tested in this election—will we pursue the democratic values and progressive policies the great majority of us want for our children? Or will we fall into the egomaniacal autocracy and corporate kleptocracy that Trump is openly promising? Biden’s got his weaknesses, but we at least have a shot at pressuring him to enact good policy and holding him accountable when he doesn’t. A future with Trump’s special brand of authoritarianism and tyranny holds zero chance for us.

Sure, I wish we had better choices—and we have to work toward that happy day. As Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson of the Highlander Center said this morning, “Sweet freedom dreams of a world where we have the power to never be in conditions like this again.” But right now, here we are. Sulking about it elects Trump. So, I don’t care if Biden is a sack of cement, I’m going to help haul him to the finish line.

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