Ode to A Democratic Town: 'So what do I have to show for being a Democrat all my life?'
This is my ode to a Democratic town. Where political winds bluster and abound. Where the more things change, the more they stay the same. And on the national scene it’s the same damn shame.
By John W. Fountain
THIS IS MY ODE to a Democratic town. Where political winds bluster and abound.
An ode to the status quo in my home city. Where corruption, patronage and machine politics run plenty.
Where poor Black and brown are but mere pawns in this game. Where amid the latest political rancor I see the same old faces, hear the same old names.
Where the more things change, the more they stay the same. And on the national scene, it’s the same damn shame.
…So what do I have to show for being a Democrat all my life? Wasn't it the Democrats who gave us mass incarceration and harsher penalties for crack cocaine over powder white?
Wasn’t it a Democrat who during the ‘68 riots gave the order for Chicago Police to “Shoot to kill”? And the ‘68 Democratic Convention where cops and National Guardsman pummeled Vietnam War protestors red with fists and clubs—causing their blood to spill? The Democrats who gave us Chicago machine politics and ill will?
Wasn’t it certain Democrats who sanctioned the murder of Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark? Democrats who have pulled the wool over our eyes, and most often kept Black folk in the dark.
Wasn’t it Democrats who allowed Chicago’s housing projects to languish: Stateway Gardens, Robert Taylor Homes and Cabrini-Green? The Democrats who have at times treated Black folks so disrespectful and mean?
Wasn’t it a Democratic state’s attorney under whom Police Detective Jon Burge beat and tortured countless Black men into false confessions? And why have police chiefs—appointed by Democratic mayors—yet to make any real headway in curing this city’s homicidal obsession?
Are Republicans the only one’s to engage in racist dog whistling? Remember, in 1983, when Ed Vrdolyak and other Dems abandoned Harold Washington as their nominee? Remember? Those bipartisan racial embers?
How they turned tail and ran to support the white Republican candidate. Whose campaign mantra rang: “Bernie Epton… Before it’s too late.”
AND HOW MANY GOOD white liberal Dems want to live next door to “the Blacks”?
Why are they so quick to give handouts rather than teach a man how to “fish” for what he lacks?
Democrats have never sold us empty promises just to get our votes. Never doled out ham, chickens or a precinct job in exchange for our political soul.
Oh, no!
It wasn’t Chicago Democrats who looked the other way and remained mum. Who approved hush money about the tape that showed Laquan take 16 shots from a bad cop’s gun.
And Dems—Black and white—have never sold “the people” out. Never traded truth and justice for political clout.
This is my ode to a Democratic town. Where political winds bluster and abound.
An ode to the status quo in Chi city. Where corruption, patronage and machine politics run plenty.
Where the more things change, the more they stay the same. And on the national scene it’s the same damn shame.
So what do I have to show for being a Democrat all my life? Does the Democratic Party deserve my undying devotion, whether wrong or right?
Would I benefit more if my skin was not Black, but white? Is sufficient enough reason to vote Democratic because they’re not the Republican right?
Well, the lesser of political evils is sometimes hard to tell. And my sincere inclination is to tell them both to go to hell.
DO DEMOCRATS HATE ME less or love me more? Do they have the heart and humanity to address what ails the poor?
Wasn’t the party of Lincoln, Republican? Do Black folk since 1968 now dwell freer in this land?
And if the Grand Old Party now bellows: “Make America Great Again!” is that any greater than past Democratic sins?
And if we don’t take a stand now, then the question is when? Or four years later, won’t we just be back here again? Taken for granted, lied to and mistreated. Sold false hope, played with and cheated.
Admittedly, I can have no great expectation from the now Party Of Insurrection. And perhaps none either from Dems or in this city, where Dr. King was once stoned and that remains steeped in segregation.
Caught between the rock of political disenchantment and the hard place of political abandonment, I find it difficult to choose. Voting either way, am I still bound to lose?
Six in one hand, half a dozen in another. Wishing that instead of Biden or Trump there was at least one viable other.
And yet, remembering those who purchased my right to the ballot with blood, sweat and tears, I cannot not vote. Even as I am forced to contemplate jumping off the Democratic boat.
This is my ode to a Democratic town. Where political winds bluster and abound.
Where the more things change, the more they stay the same. And on the national scene it’s the same damn shame.
Email: Author@johnwfountain.com
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Democrats have surely done a lot of terrible things but look at the red states and see if they are any better esp to minorities. The Blacks haven’t been treated fairly by our country. But your ability to vote still gives you a chance. Please vote