Endorsement

I would like to announce that Greenleaf & Blueberry is endorsing Joe Biden’s candidacy for President of the United States of America.

 

Now.  We are aware that we are a very small business, and the in the scheme of US businesses we are microscopic.  But that does not mean that we do not have a voice or that it is inconsequential.  No one is so small that their voice does not matter.  

 

We generally prefer to keep our discourse to watercolor, art supplies, creativity, art history, etc.  However, we have been so moved and so effected by the events of this year and this presidency that we feel compelled to publicly state our position, knowing full well that many people are only interested in what we have to say on the topic of watercolor.

 

But in addition to being craftspeople and artists engaged in the science of paintmaking, we are citizens of this country who try our utmost to be properly informed and take our civic duties seriously.  From our products and our philosophy, you know we are students of history, you know how important scientific scrutiny of the details is to us, and I want to let you know that we apply these same thorough and inquisitive principles to the other aspects of our lives.  We do not form convictions lightly.  We are not interested in click-bait journalism, accepting rumors or hyperboles as fact, or holding onto outdated traditions and habits that do not fit the current political reality.

 

Only the deepest concern would make us step out of our studios and onto what some will see as a soapbox.  We care so much about you, our customers and patrons, and have the deepest gratitude and respect for your choice to spend some of your hard-earned money with us and some of your precious time reading our words when we share them.  I hope you can accept this statement as a sign of respect as well.  I would not take up your time with this if we were not so disturbed about what is happening in our country.

 

In this election we are supporting Former Vice-President Joe Biden.

 

Here’s why:

 

Donald Trump is not simply a Republican US President seeking re-election; he is seeking to undermine the election process to secure his second term.  He has suggested re-scheduling the election, which has never been done in our nation’s history.  He has suggested that he deserves a third term, which is unconstitutional.  He has not agreed to a peaceful transition of powers in the case he is not re-elected, and has stated that if he loses it is only the result of an unfair election.

 

He has said, and I quote: “We’re not going to lose this except if they cheat.”

 

Our president is suggesting he won’t accept certain election results and won’t commit to a peaceful transition of power.  Dear friends, this is called a coup.  

 

Whether you agree with some of his policies or not, he is unequivocally undermining our democracy.  

 

If that isn’t enough (which it should be), over 200,000 Americans have died on his watch as a result of COVID-19.  To put that in perspective, that is five times the number of Americans who died in the Korean War.  That is Arrowhead Stadium (home of the Kansas City Chiefs football team) packed to the gills with every seat filled - times two and a half.  Those seats are filled with grandparents, doctors, nurses, pregnant women, fathers, mothers, and children.  When imagining a stadium full of people, you naturally picture them alive and happy, full of energy.  But to imagine this accurately, you need to remember that the person in each of these seats is no longer living.  The two and half stadiums full of people are silent.  And you need to remember that this isn’t hypothetical.  Over 200,000 individual American lives have been lost since March of this year.  Each of those people have left behind families and friends who mourn them, and must now learn to navigate life without them.  This is a devastating national tragedy.    

 

Please, understand that in addition to speaking to you as a concerned American citizen, I’m also speaking to you as a mother and a business owner.  This president did not do his job to protect us.  I don’t see how politics figure against a virus.  Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican you can still get sick.  In wanting to protect my family I couldn’t give a damn what party our President is from.  He is the leader of our country and it is his job to protect its citizens.  All of them.  I know he doesn’t have the power to single-handedly stop this virus, but he does have the power to offer information, guidance, and direction.  He does have the power to create unity.  I wish he would have used it.

 

All I have wanted is to understand how to protect my family and keep my community safe.  For that information I have had to look elsewhere, from the CDC, to state and local governments, to member’s of the greater medical community, to scientific news articles.  In short, I have had to cobble together the information myself to try to make the best decisions I can.  

 

This pandemic has been horrible for our economy.  (And, to be clear, the stock market is not the economy.)  In our small town out here in Western Colorado, I have seen more and more store fronts on Main Street go vacant, I have spoken with other business owners who are struggling and have been forced to lay off their staff.  We have been struggling.  Greenleaf & Blueberry nearly went bankrupt trying to keep our staff on payroll during the Stay-At-Home orders so that they could pay their rent and buy food.  (And we fully supported the orders, as they corresponded to a decrease in virus cases.)  

 

Side Note:  If you believe the pandemic is merely a hoax, I hope that you can see that this President should have done everything in his power to provide crystal clear communication and proof of the facts to diffuse such chaos and prevent the country he leads from being so taken by widespread fraud.  And, further, if this is truly something you believe, I would question why our President would approve multiple trillions of dollars in relief to fight something that isn’t real.

 

Friends, I am addressing you knowing that some of you will agree with me and some of you will not.  I am offering a description of my own experience, and an explanation of my own logic in sincere hopes you will find it helpful in some way.

 

I know many intelligent, well-meaning Republicans feel uncomfortable with Trump, but also feel like they have no other choice.  I know it is not in the nature of many of you to suspect a President of lying and taking less responsibility than his office is due.  Believing such a thing can seem cynical, disloyal, or unpatriotic.  I also understand that some on the left can be insufferably arrogant.  However, it doesn’t mean they are wrong (or right), it just means they are rude.  Important decisions and opinions should not be based on resentment, vindictiveness, or hot emotions.

 

Right now it is especially important to step away from stereotypes and knee-jerk reactions.  We should be concentrating on what is best for all of us and what is really true.  Casting a vote for Biden doesn’t make you a far left extremist.  Casting a vote against Trump is patriotic.  It is a vote to uphold our Constitution.

 

Our current President is blatantly undermining our democracy.  He has mismanaged the pandemic that has devastated our economy and resulted in the loss of lives for hundreds of thousands of Americans.

 

When loss of life and the life of our democracy itself is at stake, everything else pales in comparison.  Politics don’t matter if we have no Constitution.

 

We are supporting Joe Biden for President of the United States.

 

We hope you will vote in November.

 

September 28, 2020
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