When saying ‘I’m sorry’ is not enough

It’s getting more and more difficult for me to look in the mirror, for what do I see?

I see a white man who enjoys the benefits of white privilege at the expense of brown and black peoples here in the U.S. and around the world.

I see a Jewish man for whom Israel claims to speak as they exterminate the Palestinian people.

I see a citizen of the U.S., a country that has exported more death and destruction around the world than any other in human history.

I am 80 years old and have spent most of my life trying to undo the damage done in my name but with little success.

Israel continues its program of genocide, the U.S. continues its program of imperialism in its drive to control and dominate the governments and resources around the globe, and the police and justice system are increasing their program of incarcerating and often exterminating brown and black people.

As a result of my feelings of impotence, I have become more and more radicalized. Where I once marched with the anti-war movement, I now understand that there will be no end to war as long as we live within a capitalist, imperialist structure.

The basic instincts of this capitalist, imperialist program is to gather and control or dominate the world’s resources and markets. Thus, the idea of community and sharing and cooperating is foreign to this ideology. Instead we live with the notion of competitiveness and private gain. As a result, the top 10% live luxuriously while the other 90% struggle or live in dire poverty.

As long as we have poverty, lack of food, lack of affordable housing, lack of guaranteed medical care, and quality public education for the large majority of people on this Earth, we will have wars. As long as the structures of our societies foster competition and reward individual gain, we will have wars. As long as we accept the exploitation of the working people, we will have wars. People will rebel and resist and fight for a better life and how can we blame them.

I want to state very clearly as a Jew, Israel does not speak for me. A Jewish state has no right to exist and its very presence incorporates the right of Israelis to implement a program of ethnic cleansing or genocide. After all, how can you establish a Jewish state if Muslims and Christians live within Israel’s boundaries?

I want to state very clearly as a citizen of the U.S., that the U.S. does not represent me. The government, the military, and the local police forces exist for the benefit of the elite ruling class and their actions and policies do not represent the well being of the working class, which includes me.

I will not vote for either Trump nor Clinton because both are candidates selected by the ruling class and neither represents any desire for meaningful change in how we conduct our lives. THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS IS STILL EVIL.

The whole system is rigged to ensure that there will be no change. Voting does nothing more than allow us to select one of the two candidates the ruling class has chosen to oppress us. If you’re worried about Trump, I would suggest you worry as much about Clinton. She might push us into WW3.

Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.