I Won't Play the Sap for You

A New Motto for the American Voter

Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, independent, or some other party affiliation, I’d like to suggest a new motto for you as a voter: I won’t play the sap for you.

I take this motto from “The Maltese Falcon,” a classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, where Bogart refuses to play the sap for a woman he loves who’s guilty of a heinous crime:

What do I mean? I’m not supporting the “red” team or “blue” team. I’m not voting for the lesser of two evils.

I believe in supporting candidates who support basic human decency. That means to me a living wage, affordable health care for all, excellent education for all, affordable housing, true family-friendly policies such as family leave and child care. That means to me a country that stops building military bases across the globe and prisons across America and instead builds new schools and hospitals and treatment centers for the mentally ill and those addicted to drugs. That means a government that uses common wealth for common health, and by “health” I mean an environment that is safe for all. We all need clean air, fresh water, unspoiled and unpolluted land, a true “America the beautiful.” We’re not going to get there by spending most of our discretionary money on the military and police and other instruments of surveillance, control, and domination.

It’s not that hard to create a better America. The first step, the most crucial step, is to stop playing the sap for those who attempt to seduce us and mislead us as they commit heinous crimes.

Stop playing the sap and start demanding real changes that help regular folk across America. What’s most profitable for America isn’t captured by maximizing shareholder dividends but by maximizing our ability to enjoy the wonders that are all around us.