George Takei for the win:

[tblue37]

A Democrat was in the White House when my family was sent to the internment camps in 1941. It was an egregious violation of our human and civil rights.

It would have been understandable if people like me said they’d never vote for a Democrat again, given what had been done to us.

But being a liberal, being a progressive, means being able to look past my own grievances and concerns and think of the greater good. It means working from within the Democratic party to make it better, even when it has betrayed its values.

I went on to campaign for Adlai Stevenson when I became an adult. I marched for civil rights and had the honor of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King. I fought for redress for my community and have spent my life ensuring that America understood that we could not betray our Constitution in such a way ever again.

Bill Clinton broke my heart when he signed DOMA into law. It was a slap in the face to the LGBTQ community. And I knew that we still had much work to do. But I voted for him again in 1996 despite my misgivings, because the alternative was far worse. And my obligation as a citizen was to help choose the best leader for it, not to check out by not voting out of anger or protest.

There is no leader who will make the decision you want her or him to make 100 percent of the time. Your vote is a tool of hope for a better world. Use it wisely, for it is precious. Use it for others, for they are in need of your support, too.

Link to tweet

[Attilatheblond]

1. Saw this today. Saved it, knowing it would be important to remind people

[url=https://postimg.cc/r0GcXpPq][img][/img][/url]

[tblue37]

3. Excellent! Thank you.

[Seinan Sensei]

26. To be honest, sometimes Marriage isn't Marriage

As in, Marriage is not "absolutely perfect"
Often Marriage is a lot like the proverbial bus ride
(But then there are those days when you get to Uber exactly to your destination!)

[oasis]

2. This 100%.

[Martin Eden]

4. MAGATs would call Mr. Takei weak for not taking revenge

But George Takei possesses much greater strength and wisdom than they can comprehend.

[Skittles]

5. Mr. Takei is such a treasure

yes INDEED

[Hekate]

6. George Takei is brilliant, & more importantly, he is deeply wise

[ffr]

7. He says what we all feel.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Vote to make a better future, if not for yourself, for others. We're stronger together.

[Elessar Zappa]

8. Takei is a very wise man.

And a true treasure.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Purists are enemies of pragmatists

I think reality is so complex it requires pragmatism to deal with it. By reality, I include dealing with people. That means controlling as needed and able and negotiating when reasonable and avoiding losing interactions if possible.

Purism is 2016 voting for Jill Stein (and hence tRump) because no Democrat is perfect enough.

Pragmatism is getting things done and not fighting battles until they can be won. Sometimes battles are forced on us, and then we fight.

Internal purism leads to Maoist Cultural Revolutions. A lot of good that did China. Not.
Internal purism leads to Wahabi fighting Shia fighting Sunni fighting Sufi.
Internal purism is the Republican Party become a rump party by demanding loyalty to Hair Fuhrer.

Pragmatism is a successful strategy that gets many needed things done.

Purism gets little done. The GQP is constantly primarying itself for purity. Part of the reason the Red Wave became a pinkish slush puddle, 15 votes for Speaker, two Speakers in one year, Continuing Resolutions, etc.

Christian nationalism is purism.
Banning books is purism.
White nationalism is purism.

Don't be a Puritan or a purist.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

16. I cast thee out, o unpure one, for misspelling Hair Furor!

Ok, maybe not casting so much as
k&r the OP and interesting responses.

[True Blue American]

10. George

A Democrat did not start the war. Germany amd Japan did. A Democrat did end the war.
George is a Japanese American who spent time in American camps as a child, safely.

[Lucky Luciano]

13. They didn't put German Americans in camps.

They put Japan Americans- citizens - in camps.

[True Blue American]

18. Maybe not, but

My Grandparents were from Hanover Germany. They were treated badly during WW 1 and 2.

[niyad]

20. Are you saying that, because your grandparents were treated

badly, that made it okay to IMPRISON American citizens in camps? Confiscate their property? Destroy their lives? Please tell me that I am misunderstanding.

[Martin68]

28. You are totally and utterly misunderstanding. The point is that Americans whose roots were in Germany or

Japan were treated as untrustworthy and second class US citizens during WWII.

[yardwork]

24. They weren't interned in camps, though.

They didn't have their belongings confiscated. They were allowed to go about their business.

[niyad]

14. Reading comprehension is your friend. George did NOT say

Last edited Mon Nov 27, 2023, 11:49 AM - Edit history (1)

that a Democrat started the war. He SAID it was a President, who was a Democrat, who signed the papers authorizing the internment of AMERICAN CITIZENS. Safely??? Perhaps you could read up on the history of those camps. Visit Manzanar. Explain the appropriation of properties, businesses, LIVES.

[lonely bird]

17. Safely?

Interesting word. Perhaps you would feel safe if Trump gets elected and decides to round you up and send you to a camp? Perhaps you would feel safe when your property or business is confiscated? Do you think the Jews felt safe when they were rounded up and their belongings confiscated before the “Final Solution” was implemented?

Btw, this country along with others wasn’t much interested in taking in Jews before the war started.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

21. They weren't interested in taking in Jews

After the war started, either.

[ancianita]

27. Nope. Nor children.

[SpankMe]

22. George didn't say a Democrat started the war

He said a Democrat signed off on sending Japanese-Americans into camps.

It's better to read entire posts first and take away their larger points rather than take some isolated internal phrase from the post and use it to bang people over the head.

[yardwork]

23. No need to misrepresent the internment camps for Japanese Americans.

They were wrong, and the U.S. government has apologized for committing this wrong.

Accept Takei's gracious and important point.

[Paladin]

12. Beautifully stated by Mr. Takei. (nt)

[niyad]

15. Thank you, George.

[redqueen]

19. Beautifully said

[Cuthbert Allgood]

25. Got the chance to meet him at a comic con right before COVID hit

He is a wonderful human. Talked to each person in line as an individual. Very sweet human. So is his husband.

[whathehell]

29. Mr. Takei is terrific..

it's hard these days to find so much sanity in such a small space.

[Cha]

30. SO TRUE!! TY & George Takei!!

[UpInArms]

31. I have always said

I don’t even agree with myself 100% of the time, so why would I expect to agree with anyone else that often

[NoMoreRepugs]

32. A wise good man who speaks truth.

[UTUSN]

33. Exactly, George. The Lib way is for OTHERS more than ourselves

[AmBlue]

34. Wise words...

...for an exhausted and disillusioned America. I hope those who need to hear are listening.