The Big Yellow Taxi, The Recall, and Voter Apathy
“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone?”
I love Joni Mitchell. She wrote that line, which is in one of my favorite songs, “Big Yellow Taxi,” when she was in Hawaii, taking in all the breathing beauty, then realized, of course, they bulldozed some trees for a parking lot and some fast food joint.
The song “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell from the album Ladies of the Canyon (1970).
In 1970 she sang about how sad she was that all the plant life of the world was being wiped out in favor of asphalt.
Hi, Everybody; I’m Gloria Moraga.
This is One-On-One. It’s Tuesday, August 31.
The End of Summer – Back to Reality
The last day of August.
What does that mean to you? The end of summer? Time to go back to school. No more summer vacations, no more cookouts or late night swims.
September officially begins the long, expensive trip to the holidays and the end of the year.
As a political reporter, fall means more work, Congress was coming back to the Hill. During election years, Fall means voters begin paying more attention to upcoming elections. And we would step up our election coverage.
What Issues are Important to You?
I always loved covering policy over politics.
I enjoyed covering issues and people. It was more difficult and time-consuming than just following a politician and recording speeches.
But politicians, like Trump, and others don’t really deal with real issues. Issues like poverty, child hunger, global warming, homelessness, drug addiction.
What do some of these Fake Politicians actually believe?
That masks are bad. That we need to stop some people from voting. That COVID is Fake.
Setting Policy – Changing Lives
All that said, political leaders, Governors, Presidents, legislators, can advance or block important issues. Their policies help or hurt an issue.
That’s why elections are important. That’s why it’s important to vote. And help others vote.
Yes, the people elected can and do change how we live!
They can help solve problems. And they can make things worse.
The Election Cycle
Here in America, every two years we gear up for national elections–the presidential elections every four years, and the mid-term elections happen every two years.
They are called mid-terms because they are basically in the middle of the President’s four-year term. We vote on all members of the U.S. House of Representatives. And one-third of U.S. Senators.
After the nightmare of the Trump presidency and the deadly Capitol Insurrection in January 2021 it was kind of a relief that this year there would not be national elections.
We could breathe. Take a break. Focus on other things.
The Governor’s Recall Special Election
But here in California, it is not to be.
In addition to dealing with the stress of our National Forests burning down near our Beautiful Lake Tahoe.
In two weeks we will vote on the Recall of Governor Gavin Newsom.
I’m obsessed with this for two reasons.
Recalls – A Waste of Money
One. Recalls are usually launched by “sore losers.” And the process costs too much money.
Unless the politician in question commits some heinous crime like murder or mayhem, we can just wait until the next election.
Two. Polls show Californians, overall, are just not focused or interested in voting in this special election. Let me be specific here, voters who want to Recall Newsom are engaged and raring to vote. Democrats are not really engaged.
Voter Apathy is So Fricking Dangerous
Akkkkkkkk. I hate this. Why? What is wrong with us? Don’t we ever learn from past mistakes?
“Don’t it always seem to go that we don’t know what we’ve got til it’s gone?”
When I worked at ABC News Sacramento, I was frequently assigned with a photographer who bullied me. He used to say, just to get me upset, “it doesn’t matter if you vote or not. Nothing will change in my life. Nothing. It’s a waste of time.”
Sadly, too many people agree with that guy. And that is why we continue to get the worst possible candidates and the worst possible election outcomes.
It’s frustrating.
It does matter who the Governor is or the President.
Gavin Newsom may not be perfect but who is.
And the person who may replace him could be a fricking nightmare.
Masks and COVID
Right now in America, some states are struggling because of mismanagement by their Governors and state lawmakers.
Some Governors are fighting Masks. Parents want their kids to wear masks in schools to protect them. The governors are fighting the school district.
Idiots.
Meanwhile, more kids are getting Covid.
What the fuck!
Making it More Difficult to Vote
Republican lawmakers in 11 states with the support of their governors also working overtime to enact voting restrictions.
What? Yes. They want to make it more difficult to Vote.
Why?
Because Trump LOST the election. Because poor people and people of color voted for President Biden.
I despair.
Still Marching for Voting Rights – Deja Vu All over Again
In response to the anti-voting legislation, thousands of people demonstrated in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. August 30.
They chanted, “What do we want? Voting rights! When do we want them? Now!”
And there is this quote from Janice Clark, 58, of Cheverly, Maryland, “It’s really ridiculous,” Clark said. “We end up doing the same thing all over again.”
One Step Up – Ten Steps Back
It’s like we are moving backward. How is this happening and why?
Don’t it always seem to go that we don’t know what we’ve got til it’s gone….
Here is a list of the Countries in the world with NO voting rights.
And oh, what do you know, these Countries also have the worst HUMAN rights violations.
Do we as human beings in 2021 have the right to live in peace, unharmed?
No apparently not according to:
- Saudi Arabia
Is a non-democratic country that lacks basic human rights. There is an absolute monarch in Saudi Arabia. The people of Saudi Arabia are denied any substantial voice as authorities systematically discriminate against women and religious minorities, and judicial punishments are unbelievably inhumane. In 2015 alone, Saudi Arabia carried out 158 executions, 63 for non-violent drug crimes, according to the Human Rights Watch. - North Korea
As one of the world’s most secretive and repressive societies, North Korea is an authoritarian state currently run by the supreme leader Kim-Jong Un. The government imposes harsh restrictions on freedom of information and movement by threatening the people with forced labor and public executions. A 2014 UN report documented extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion and other sexual violence in North Korea. - Vietnam
Vietnam is a one-party communist state where the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Vietnam actively suppresses any religious rights and the only party that rules the country has a complete monopoly on political power. Basic rights, including freedom of speech, opinion, press, association and religion, are restricted. - China
China is the biggest communist state where the government controls over 50 percent of the economy. Because of the government’s reluctance to allow western influences, it enforces strong internet censorship on the world’s top rated websites like Google, Facebook, Twitter and many others. Many fundamental human rights are limited, including freedom of expression, association, assembly and religion.
Back to California. Today, Aug. 31 was the last day to Register to Vote in order to vote in the Recall Election, in two weeks. We really don’t know if Newsom will be recalled or not. Maybe I’m just stressing out for nothing. Because some believe that it doesn’t really matter.
Right?
Not me. Of course. I believe in the democratic process.
The Reason Joni Mitchell called her song The Big Yellow Taxi, even though she was singing about cutting down trees and Paving Paradise is because of this line, “Last night I heard the Screen Door Slam, and a Big Yellow Taxi took away my Old Man.”
If Gavin Newsom loses his job, we will only have to put up with his replacement for two years. How much damage can be done in two years?
That’s the short view. The long view is why aren’t people interested in voting?
Because the Big yellow taxi can take away so much more than just one Governor.
Look at China or North Korea or Saudi Arabia. Watch the videos of the January 6th Capitol Insurrection and listen to the testimony of the officers who defended our nation.
I’m Gloria Moraga, I’m a Political Woman and I Vote. Thank you for listening. Please share and subscribe.
Wherever you live, be involved, be informed, and talk to each other One-On-One.