My family relocated to Utah more than six years ago for many reasons, including the welcoming community and proximity to the great outdoors. In our Wasatch Back household, we have a husband who usually votes the Republican ticket and a wife who usually votes the Democrat ticket.
Over the years there have been many debates at our kitchen table about strategies, tactics, and — recently — about facts. We are pessimistic and optimistic about different things.
This year we cast the same vote. We are so deeply disappointed and disheartened about the scale of the corruption and greed in Washington right now that we have united around some basic values and desires. We are united in what we’re asking of the people who represent us, Republican and Democrat.
We are asking the blue and red in both houses to work together to:
(1) Stop funding Israel’s wars — against Palestine and Iran.
(2) Find and block the loopholes that President Trump has found to exercise authority that doesn’t belong to the executive branch.
(3) Engage in deep and lasting campaign finance reform that includes abolishing PACs, which have become vehicles for parking money in exchange for political favors.
(4) Put people before corporations (that means, for example, passing legislation in response to Citizens United to make clear that corporations are not people and cannot spend unlimited money on election campaigns).
(5) Put people before AI. That means putting the brakes on AI development until we can make sure it’s not going to obliterate humanity — first by taking all of our jobs and eventually by taking up arms and eliminating us.
Protecting the future of the human race, including our dignity, must be our first priority. We don’t want to be replaced by computers. And when we call for help, we’d like to talk with a human — please.
Kelley Hart, Summit County