A Letter to Joe…
Dear Vice President Biden,
What follows may seem like a “blinding flash of the obvious” to you, but I am compelled to write you and explain what I think many people in this country are feeling about your candidacy for President of the United States.
You have always struck people as a person of good character, goodwill and integrity, one that is empathetic, personable and with a passion for the promise of our country. Many people say, “He’s just a decent person.” That doesn’t necessarily sound like a huge compliment, but in today’s world it assuredly is. Decency and a sense of fair play matter to the great majority of Americans, as does honesty, kindness, compassion and a commitment to a level playing field for all of us. For too long these character attributes, that were aspirational to most of us as children, have not been an absolute requirement for political or corporate leadership, and they should be. People think you embody an abundance of these admirable character attributes, and that is refreshing and exciting to them.
You’ve experienced significant personal trauma, heartache and tragedy in your life, and you’ve come through it all with grace, optimism and a willingness to help others suffer less than you have. You are a humble person, unique in today’s political arena. Cynicism and bitterness are corrosive human attributes, and you don’t seem to have a cynical or bitter bone in your body, after brutally hard knocks that might have caused a lesser person to move in those directions. Equality, justice and inclusion clearly matter to you, as does the rule of law. The truth and facts matter to you, and you are a person whose word can be trusted. These aspects of your personality alone distinguish you as a person worthy to hold the office of President, saying nothing of your dedicated service and impressive accomplishments as a Senator and Vice President.
A high percentage of Americans are yearning to get behind and rally around a person of your character to lead us into an era of national healing. We all know, as you do, that there is a monumental amount of work to be done to heal this nation. You were outspoken on what needs to be done to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to support the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests. We are also thrilled that you have assertively focused on the climate crisis and this country’s ability to lead the world into a clean energy future. You are explaining in detail just how this can be done without ballooning the obscene national deficit, and you envision with specificity how to create millions of new, high quality jobs by expanding our country’s clean energy portfolio and rebuilding our outdated and crumbling physical infrastructure.
From a policy perspective, most of us believe our military spending needs to be evaluated and trimmed, the wealthy are in a position to shoulder a bigger chunk of the tax burden and voting rights must be protected and expanded. Gerrymandering and voter suppression must be stopped dead in their tracks, as must foreign influence in our elections. Campaign finance reform must bring an end to the corrupt influence corporations and special interests have on our elections and elected officials, and the grotesquely outdated and unnecessary Electoral College must be abolished. We trust that you will make these matters a priority, and as you must know, there is much more to be accomplished to restore the faith of the large majority of the American public in our Federal Government.
We expect that as President you will protect and champion the free press and preserve and strengthen the critical social safety net: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. We know how strongly you feel about rebuilding Obamacare, and the people of the United States expect that universal healthcare for all will become a right, rather than the privilege it is now. The time for sensible gun control / gun safety legislation is long overdue, as well. We expect that you will outfit your administration with the very best brains available: both wise, seasoned veterans and a collection of younger intellectual standouts that are energetic, diverse, optimistic, reasonable, compassionate and fair. Your goal as we understand it is to simply have a cabinet of best minds, regardless of political party, and that’s a very good thing indeed.
The Executive Branch administrative agencies will need to be rebuilt and strengthened, in particular the EPA, as well as the intelligence services, the Department of Justice and of course the Post Office. We are hopeful that you will once and for all put an end to the silly idea of privatizing things government does exceptionally well: the military, the prison system, the postal service, veterans hospitals and public education. Now is also the time to restore the promise set forth by FDR in the New Deal of an activist Federal Government that preserves the social safety net, maintains and expands infrastructure and protects our citizens with effective regulation. And the time has come to once and for all eradicate systematic racism and discrimination in our government and social institutions. Again, we trust that you will be active in addressing all these things. But wait, there’s more.
We need leaders at the Federal level that will seek out and expunge any shred of a culture in our government that tolerates or encourages cronyism, nepotism, self-dealing, corruption, cruelty or criminality. We also need strong thinkers at the helm that can articulate the difference between Socialism and Democratic Socialism and be willing to pursue Democratic Socialist reforms that meaningfully reduce the suffering of our people. These strong thinkers also must end the excesses of greed in unrestrained free markets and restore regulatory controls that protect the public against white-collar crime, an unhealthy environment and occupational injury and death. Our leaders must trust the scientific disciplines and their experts, and set the example by restoring the values of honesty, integrity and hard work as ones our children revere. We think you are such a leader.
We are hopeful that this election will be one that will not only put you in the Oval Office but will move us in the direction of electing real people to office, rather than money drenched career politicians. We must have people in office that are truly representative of our country’s diverse gender and multicultural demographics. We believe our future will be made better by fully embracing the evolution of diversity and multiculturalism of our society. As such, America can then restore itself as a global leader because it has reignited the American dream and protects the interests of the least privileged among us, regardless of the color of their skin, their gender identification, their birth place or their religious preference. America can soon again live by the precepts in its Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, and you seem to be well equipped to lead us in doing that.
You know you will inherit at the outset a country outraged by bigotry, racially motivated violence and murder by law enforcement. We almost certainly will still be deep in the throws of a deadly pandemic and its economic devastation. Greed by corporations, crippling income inequality and deep levels of corruption in our government persist, but it is clear to us that you have the ability to inspire us with a process of national reconciliation of our differences and healing of these deep wounds, injustices and failures of leadership.
We believe we are at an inflection point in our nation’s history. The majority of the United States population fervently believes that enough is enough, and we must move in an entirely new, healthier, sustainable and more inclusive direction. We also are hopeful that this election will usher in generations of principled, progressive and compassionate leadership in our government. You have the opportunity to begin a transformation for our country that is long over due, so good luck to you in this election. We stand behind you.
We the People can’t wait for you to be our President.
Sincerely yours,
Arthur Hargate
