As a flyer around Eugene states, "If it is humiliating to be ruled, how much more degrading is it to choose our masters?" We are not part, nor will we ever be a part of the decision-making process of the U.S. government. Elections are only formalities the powers go through every year to have us believe we are living in a democratic society.
Those who control our lives will do as they please. If the cops don't get more money from a ballot measure, they will get it from the feds. If Bush does not get elected, Gore will. Either way our real needs are never met and the much deeper questions, like where our food comes from, how we interact with each other, and why our lives and the planet have been placed under this suffocating order to begin with will never be addressed.
It is time to reject this whole rotten system. I am discouraged by the fact that so many well intentioned people are regaining hope in the political spectacle, because of Ralph Nader. Voting for Nader is like ordering a veggie burger at McDonald's. You are still supporting the same illegitimate system, but you feel better about yourself.
Of course I don't want to see Measure 9 passed, and also hope Measure 11 gets repealed. But the amount of time, energy, and money spent running campaigns could be much better spent creating communities of mutual aid based on our needs and desires. And when we become strong and independent from their institutions of control, their laws will become meaningless. We should not petition the state. We should smash it!
Robin Terranova Eugene