“Remember, remember the fifth of November,” begins the parable V for Vendetta before opening on a government not unlike our own.Fascist, built on hatred, an angry white man speaks for the few who worship nothing but power and call it God.Tomorrow is election day, and V can also stand for Vote.Two years ago our nation awoke in shock.Since that day we’ve seen hate crimes transform from illegal to commendable as Neo-Nazis are described as very fine people and those who actually do the labor for the nation have been disenfranchised so the uber-wealthy can have tax cuts.Violence isn’t the answer, but voting can be.As soon as the GOP sensed it might lose, it began voter suppression measures.They have never watched V.
The hope for any democracy rests in the volition to vote.We have to be willing to inconvenience ourselves to get to the polling station tomorrow for an outcome that will decide the fate of this nation.We’ve had “fake news” spewn out at every fact that is distasteful.Open, bald-faced lies backed up by sycophantic adoration of a non-charismatic hater—well, have you watched V for Vendetta?Graphic novels, it turns out, can indeed be prophetic.And since there are other nations out there that look to emulate the land of Amerigo Vespucci’s legacy.We have forgotten what it was like to be a colony.Instead we prefer following blind leaders—those who can’t understand that hateful words lead to hateful deeds.Those who can’t understand that a terrorist can be an elected official.
I’m describing V for Vendetta, of course.The coincidence of the Roman numeral five and the word “Vote,” however, hasn’t been lost on me.I’ve talked to those displeased with the results of election day two years ago who hadn’t gone to vote.What we see as V designs his intricate plan is that the will of the people still matters.But for your will to be known, you must use your voice; you must vote.Or be victims of our own system.We’ve had two years to see what damage can be done—a constitution treated as a napkin and due process subverted in order to ensure ill-gotten gain.Vivid colors have been used to stain this canvas.We don’t often receive a chance to correct imbalances but there’s a lot at stake this time.If you doubt me, at least watch V for Vendetta and remember that parables are, by definition, true.