Dr. Cornel West courageously explained that both Obama and Romney are corporate candidates funded by Wall Street. He explained how West, himself, could have been assassinated under Obama’s NDAA for supporting Nelson Mandela. West criticized both candidates equally for not discussing poverty. He criticized Obama’s drones for murdering children. West’s diagnosis of the positions of both corporate candidates was on point. I am sure it would make both corporate parties uncomfortable.
The problem is that Dr. West’s prescription for healing these problems would make the corporate left very comfortable. He lacks the courage he calls for to bust out of conformity. He is going to vote for corporate candidate Obama, and can’t even mention the non-corporate candidates. That is why I decided it was not worth it to stay for West’s post-debate comments.
West has written off the 1/3 of the voters, and their candidates, that are not part of the corporate Democratic and Republican Parties. As I write this, the Green Party’s presidential candidate Jill Stein and the Justice Party’s Rocky Anderson are expanding the debate on Democracy Now. The Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson is suing to get into the debates. The most disappointing moment of the Cornel West event was when a member of the Hofstra University Libertarian Club go to the microphone to ask a question and failed to mention that Gary Johnson should be in the debate.
Speaking of the Q&A section, West’s description of Plato could be applied to himself. A questioner compared the attack on Occupy to Plato’s allegory of the cave. West said he agreed with Plato’s criticism of the excesses of democracy, but disagreed with his analysis that an oligarchy is better than democracy. The same syllogism could be applied to West. He is right in his criticism of the corporate party candidates. But, then his analysis of only choosing from among the corporate oligarchy candidates is as flawed as Plato’s analyses of democracy. Cornel West is like a brilliant doctor, who figures out the correct sickness, and then applies leeches.
Dr. West gave the example after example of the righteousness of backing the social justice underdogs from Jesus to the Abolitionists to Occupy, yet he cannot see the need to do the same with his vote. Brother West, please choose peace. Brother West, please vote your values. Brother West, please choose love.
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Filed under: 3rd party, activism, debate, Election 2012, grassroots democracy, Green Party, Healthcare, independent politics, New York State Politics, News, Peace, presidential race, progressive politics, third party, US Politics Tagged: | cornel west, Jill Stein, Nelson Mandela, Plato
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