Biden is A Big Mac, Fries and a Diet Coke

Every election, we're offered a choice between two versions of the same toxic meal

Imagine you're sitting in a fast-food joint, staring down at a tray loaded with a Big Mac, fries, and a drink. For the sake of argument, let's say it's a Coke. This meal is the epitome of everything wrong with our society's diet: it's unhealthy, unsustainable, and ultimately destructive. Now, switch out that Coke for a Diet Coke. Sure, you've cut some calories, but you're still consuming the same greasy, artery-clogging food. This, my friends, is the 2024 election: Joe Biden is the Diet Coke to Donald Trump’s regular Coke, both served alongside the same toxic meal.

Our ecosystems, social justice, and our own political power are like a patient in critical condition, desperately needing transformative changes to survive. But what do we get instead? We get a slightly modified version of the same deadly diet. Joe Biden’s administration might tweak a few policies here and there, cutting some of the surface-level harm. Yet, fundamentally, the destructive machinery of industrial civilization grinds on, unchallenged and unstoppable.

Under Biden, we might see a few more environmental protections implemented or reinstated. He might speak a bit more about climate change and introduce a couple of progressive-sounding bills. But these measures, akin to switching from a Coke to a Diet Coke—offer minimal, superficial changes while the systemic issues remain untouched. The environmental degradation, driven by an insatiable hunger for profit and consumption, continues. The ecosystems continue to be ravaged, biodiversity plummets, and the planet's ability to sustain life is further compromised.

Social injustice persists unabated. Yes, Biden may offer more palatable rhetoric about unity and equality. He may even introduce some reforms aimed at addressing the symptoms of systemic racism and inequality. But make no mistake, these are bandaids on a gaping wound. The fundamental structures of power and privilege remain unaltered. The economic system still funnels wealth upward, leaving the marginalized to fight for scraps. The criminal justice system continues to disproportionately target people of color. Corporate interests still dominate policy decisions, ensuring that any real progress is stymied.

And let's not forget the entrenched corporate power. Biden's administration, much like Trump's, is filled with corporate insiders and lobbyists. Their interests lie in maintaining the status quo, not in dismantling the systems of exploitation that have brought us to the brink. The revolving door between government and big business keeps spinning, ensuring that policy decisions favor profit over people and the planet. Corporate power remains unchallenged, and any talk of "transformative change" is quickly diluted into corporate-friendly reforms.

We've been living this script for decades. Every election, we're offered a choice between two versions of the same toxic meal. Sometimes, we get a regular Coke. Other times, it's a Diet Coke. But the meal itself never changes. The Big Mac and fries—representing our destructive industrial civilization—remain a constant. And we keep consuming it, hoping that this time, maybe this time, things will be different. But they never are.

So, when do we change the script? When do we demand more than just a change of drink? When do we push for a truly transformative change that addresses the root causes of our ecological and social crises? When do we stop settling for incrementalism and start demanding a complete overhaul of the systems that are killing us?

The time is now. We can't afford to keep playing this game of superficial changes while the planet burns and people suffer. We need to break free from the constraints of this industrial-capitalist paradigm. We need to embrace a vision of a world where ecosystems are protected, social justice is realized, and corporate power is dismantled.

How? We need strategic organized resistance. That’s the only way anything is going to change. Showing up to vote, making a few tweets or even showing up to a few protests won’t change anything. It never has, and it never will.

It's time to throw out the entire meal and start fresh. The health of our planet and the well-being of future generations depend on it. Let’s demand real, transformative change—not just a Diet Coke with our Big Mac and fries.