I grew up in a politically split household, but in the opposite way from a lot of others: Dad was a liberal Democrat and Mom was a conservative Republican. My brothers and I all followed Dad’s lead and after many years, Mom joined us too. She was born and raised in Massachusetts at a time when it was rock-ribbed Republican and the south was solidly Democrat. That’s changed now, but it’s the parties more than the people that have changed.
The first time I remember pulling for a presidential ticket was Carter/Mondale in 1976. I had an iron-on decal of their logo on a T-shirt and was glad when they won. The next election was the first I was eligible to vote in and he lost that one.
My votes, in order:
1980: Jimmy Carter, lost.
1984: Walter Mondale, lost.
1988: Alice Cooper, write-in, lost by an unbelievable margin.
1992: Bill Clinton, won. After 12 years I finally voted for a winner.
1996: Ralph Nader, lost.
2000: Ralph Nader, lost again. First time I voted for the same person twice.
2004: John Kerry, lost.
2008: Barack Obama, won. 28 years in, my second winning vote
2012: Barack Obama, won again.
2016: Hillary Clinton
We’ll find out tonight if my vote this year was for a winner but I’m cautiously optimistic that I’m set for a 3-peat tonight. I cast my vote for Hillary Clinton without qualification and not as the lesser of two evils. It’s oddly fitting that she needs to win by defeating an opponent who considers sexual predation to be a perk of his wealth and fame.
I don’t expect Hillary Clinton to be one of our greatest presidents although I think she has the intellect and experience to be one should a unique combination of circumstance and spirit demand it of her. Her greatest contribution to our country and world will almost certainly be her destruction of a formidable barrier and, with it, the opening of the floodgates for half of the human race.
Here’s John & Yoko from their 1972 album Some Time in New York City with their composition, Woman is the Nigger of the World:
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is…think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it…do something about it
We make her paint her face and dance
If she won’t be a slave we say she don’t love us
If she’s real we say she’s trying to be a man
While putting her down we pretend that she’s above us
Original album artwork
Woman is the nigger of the world…yes she is
If you don’t believe me take a look at the one you’re with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Ah, yeh…better scream about it
We make her
bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that she’s too unworldly to be our friend
Woman in the nigger of the world…yes she is
If you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yeh (think about it).
We insult her every day on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she’s young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is…if you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yes she is…if you believe me, you better scream about it.
Words & Music by Mike Power 