Letter to the editor: Humanity is on the ballot

Holding my newborn son for the first time changed me. He was born in the spring of this year at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura. As my wife and I enjoyed around-the-clock care for our needs and the needs of our newborn, I felt a deep sense of gratitude and safety.

Although, I could not help but think of the countless images I have seen of children who were born in tents, after being illegally and forcibly displaced from their homes by the Israeli military. Bombing hospitals, residential neighborhoods, universities, and farmland is not and never was about “Israel’s right to defend itself.” President Biden claimed that a ground invasion of Rafah was his “red line.”

Netanyahu crossed that line, killing more innocents, destroying more non-military infrastructure, and doing so with our tax dollars. So why do both Democrats and Republicans support endless wars? Why can Israel do no wrong? And why do our leaders still claim that Israel is “defending itself” when death tolls clearly show that it is the aggressor? Look no further than this quote from Joe Biden as he addressed the Senate in 1986: “Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interests in the region.”

Kamala Harris has also committed the same unwavering support to the false concept of Israel “defending itself.” How could I possibly explain to my son that I voted for these atrocities? Do the lives of the children in Gaza mean less than my son’s?

Humanity is on the ballot, and the only candidate of a major party who is able and willing to stand up to the war machine is Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Reject the lesser of the two evils. Fight for the greater good.

Dusty Larrieu, Oxnard