Hilary, you're getting my vote, not my mandate. #StopTrump"

We’re a strange bunch, us humans. For all the pride we take in our sentience, our wisdom (we even named our species Homo Sapiens, sapiens being Latin for wise) we make so many of our decisions in a manner that suggests a name change is overdue.

Often these decisions don’t make a huge amount of difference, but sometimes they do. I was recently talking with a good friend of mine from church (yes, I am still an atheist) who has stopped coming to pay at least the occasional visit. I finally got a yes, with the proviso that I’d them know when the regular minister wasn’t there, as the thought of the smug look on his face when he saw she’d returned was more than she could bear. So I’ll let her know when he’s away, and that will be that.

This is the kind of those decisions that we human’s make all the time. Often, as in this case, they don’t impact on any lives but our own. But there are times when they do.

How many people who think Donald Trump is unfit to be President also detest Hillary Clinton? How many people who would otherwise vote for anyone but Trump will be put off by the smug look on her face should she be elected the first woman President? And how many of those might decide therefore to abstain?

The answer could be millions, possibly enough for Trump to become President. Now trust me, Clinton isn’t the President I would choose, I think she will be very much a ‘business as usual’ president; the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer, and K Street will have more influence than ever. But it would never cross my mind that she might be the last President of the United States of America. With Trump installed in the Whitehouse all bets are off.
So it occurred to me that perhaps what we need is the mother of all petitions for those that are going to hold their nose and vote Hilary, so that though she will be elected President she will be not be able to claim a mandate in the name of those who have signed said petition.

So here’s a link to a petition https://www.change.org/p/hillary-clinton-hillary-you-re-getting-my-vote-not-my-mandate-stoptrump which you might want to sign at some point between now and November. It won’t necessarily make voting for Hilary easy, but at least you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that your reluctance will be duly noted, and no doubt referred to more than once in the ensuing 4 years.

Now I should perhaps point out that though I am staring this petition, it does not really apply to me as, not being a US citizen, I am unable to vote in the upcoming presidential election. But that does not mean that the world I live in won’t be massively and negatively affected by a Trump presidency. And if the likes of President Putin can interfere in the election, albeit at the invitation of candidate Trump, why can’t I? particularly as I am not planning on breaking any laws, national or international, to do so.

So whether you’re a Reagan Republican, a Bernie Democrat, or an Upstanding Independent, please sign (and share) the petition, vote for Hilary, and ensure a Trump free Whitehouse. Thank you.