I wrote this originally in response to @Novelty Saying taking a principled stand does not make sense for the long game. I see her point but believe that focusing on the individuals fails the long game and then after writing this decided it explains to others why I take the stance I do and why as a Canadian I believe that I have the right to say things here about American politics. So have at it if you wish to comment!

When I was your age I thought the same way. It has gotten worse since then and I had to review that line of thinking. I took principled stands. So did many others. But most did not compromising the way in which I see others doing when they plan to hold their nose and vote for Biden.. It is a long slippery slope towards dystopia despite Steven Pinker’s Polyannish Age of Enlightenment.

Then monetarism and Neoliberalism were imposed on us in the mid 70s and again I took principled stands. I sometimes ask people, “Where were you on April 3rd, 1976?” You were not yet born and likely not even a gleam in your father’s eye. Most cannot remember. I was at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto waiting for a good friend to come to lead our demonstration against our provincial government (which in hindsight was pretty good compared to now). The theme of our demonstration was “Stop The Cutbacks.” That was the same year Milton Friedman won the faux Nobel Prize for his Monetarism and Neoliberal ideas. I remember it well because my friend died that day after his morning run and couldn’t make it. It was a sombre march for the thousands of his friends there that day.

Before I graduated from University in 1968/9, I was part of demonstrations against the Vietnam war and part of campus demonstrations in defence of professors who taught alternative politics and history. And much of it was futile and we were fighting a rear-guard action most of the time and still today. People often settled.

After those demonstrations when monetarism was imposed in Canada I wrote letters and continued political action against the imposition of the Neoliberal Age of Austerity marked by putting people out of work to fight inflation which was badly defined and poorly understood. In one letter I wrote that fighting inflation by raising interest rates was actually like throwing gasoline on a fire hoping to put it out.

Again looking back I see that it was the beginning of our present Neoliberal Age of Austerity. Biden supported that during those years so I see him as one of the architects of what eventually brought us Trump. The only prominent figure still present on the principled side of things opposing the Neoliberal Age is Bernie Sanders. And Jeremy Corbin in England. Warren was a later arrival and is still not clear about these issue although her heart may be in the right — pun intended — place. None of the other nominees was even close. Maybe Andrew Yang.

At your age I had several job offers at one time despite the competition from the other baby boomers. I owned a house, a cottage, boat, canoes, cars and was able to buy a second house a few years later. I travelled. I started a family in 1976 when my daughter was born and then had two more kids, boys. And I worked in a low-paid profession at women’s wages which as you know are lower than what males get with the same education and qualifications.

I am comfortable in my life-style because I figured out how to live mostly ethically and still survive to live well. I bought property and was a landlord. I still am. I am a kid from a family that was raised on Social assistance by a single — widowed — mom with virtually — double entendre — no education in English. She was able to buy a house in a middle class community where I was raised with a foot in both lower and middle class life-styles. When she was too old to care for herself well, we sold her house so that she could be comfortable in her remaining years. She was almost 101 when she died. I had my first job at age 12 delivering drugs — legal ones for a drug store before you get too excited!

If I have her longevity in my genes, I figure I might have 25 years of good functioning left. I see my younger self in the supporters of Sanders many of whom are young and not willing to compromise as so many in my generation did. I NEVER voted other than for my principles and was fortunate to have And support a third political party that often threatened to win power forcing the Canadian oligarchs’ parties — like the Dems and Republicans — to bring in medicare for all, mandatory paid vacations, Unemployment insurance, pensions and many other good things. The Oligarchs’ parties still try to erode those gains so constant vigilance is necessary.