Thursday, November 04, 2004
Re-"Dubya"-d
I promise that this will be the last post on politics for a while.
I do not think I am being dramatic when I say that November 2, 2004 will go down as a dark day in American history. It's the day in which Americans officially opted for faith over reason, war and anger over diplomacy and judgment, deceit and arrogance over accountability and honor. Did all Americans choose this? No. Many of those that voted for Bush did not actively choose those reprehensible traits - but in re-electing Bush, we have honored those qualities, and shown the world and future generations what is truly important to our country - and it disgusts and saddens me.
I do not buy that somehow this will usher in a new era of unity between the parties. The last time that happened, the Democrats fell for the olive branch, and ended up getting a swift kick in the ass. 2000 was a great opportunity to unite the country, but Bush took his disputed election as a mandate to govern as though he had been chosen by Jesus himself. After 2001, he had yet another opportunity to reject divisiveness, but chose not to. Now, in 2004, when he has won by over 3.5 million votes, I have no idea why anyone would fall for these outright lies. You know, fool me once, and all.
Actually, I do have an idea. Because Americans: Democrats and Republicans are fundamentally good people. They want to see their leaders as representing all that is good in society. We want to be able to support our President. But we have a problem with faith now - there's too much of it. It's blinding us. Saying something is true does not making it so. Wanting something to be true does not make it so. Iraq is NOT a success. The economy is NOT improving significantly. Our education system is NOT getting better. The support of the world IS important in the fight on terror. We are NOT safer than we were before. Our leaders are NOT LEADING. And no matter what religion is most prevalent, religious dogma does NOT have a place in our government.
I was more involved with this election than I ever was before. For me, it was about justice. It still is. I take part of the blame for what has happened. In 2000, I wasn't very involved. I voted for Gore, but did not heed the warnings that Bush would be the disaster that he turned out to be. As a result, I just sat back and didn't really fight for the principles that I believed in, at least not beyond casting my vote. And Bush won, and the country got worse, and slowly I became very angry and frustrated and disappointed. As that built, I became more and more involved - reading articles on politics, watching the debates, engaging in political discussions, and finally making calls for Kerry, and even canvassing on his behalf. It was energizing and exciting.
While the election was disappointing, and did shake my faith in the American electorate, I felt bad for the people who worked even harder than I did. I know that in any contest, there's only one winner, but I never failed to be impressed by the dedication of those people that were working tirelessly on behalf of the campaign, to make the world better. My parents, in particular, gave a ton of money and time to support the causes they championed, and I'm quite proud of them. They don't really need the government at this stage in their lives, but they don't stop fighting for justice, and that amazes me. There are many more people who are like that, and it's inspiring.
So, hence the title of this post. My efforts are going to be redoubled. I'm going to give more of myself, because I refuse to let this country be overrun by religious fanaticism, and reactionary hatred and anger and irrationality. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet, but you can be damn sure I'll get involved. And if you're upset about what's happening, I hope you'll join me. Go support a candidate. Work on a campaign. Find an advocacy group. Make a difference. America will be a beacon of hope and truth and righteousness to the world - it just might take a little longer that we all had hoped.
I do not think I am being dramatic when I say that November 2, 2004 will go down as a dark day in American history. It's the day in which Americans officially opted for faith over reason, war and anger over diplomacy and judgment, deceit and arrogance over accountability and honor. Did all Americans choose this? No. Many of those that voted for Bush did not actively choose those reprehensible traits - but in re-electing Bush, we have honored those qualities, and shown the world and future generations what is truly important to our country - and it disgusts and saddens me.
I do not buy that somehow this will usher in a new era of unity between the parties. The last time that happened, the Democrats fell for the olive branch, and ended up getting a swift kick in the ass. 2000 was a great opportunity to unite the country, but Bush took his disputed election as a mandate to govern as though he had been chosen by Jesus himself. After 2001, he had yet another opportunity to reject divisiveness, but chose not to. Now, in 2004, when he has won by over 3.5 million votes, I have no idea why anyone would fall for these outright lies. You know, fool me once, and all.
Actually, I do have an idea. Because Americans: Democrats and Republicans are fundamentally good people. They want to see their leaders as representing all that is good in society. We want to be able to support our President. But we have a problem with faith now - there's too much of it. It's blinding us. Saying something is true does not making it so. Wanting something to be true does not make it so. Iraq is NOT a success. The economy is NOT improving significantly. Our education system is NOT getting better. The support of the world IS important in the fight on terror. We are NOT safer than we were before. Our leaders are NOT LEADING. And no matter what religion is most prevalent, religious dogma does NOT have a place in our government.
I was more involved with this election than I ever was before. For me, it was about justice. It still is. I take part of the blame for what has happened. In 2000, I wasn't very involved. I voted for Gore, but did not heed the warnings that Bush would be the disaster that he turned out to be. As a result, I just sat back and didn't really fight for the principles that I believed in, at least not beyond casting my vote. And Bush won, and the country got worse, and slowly I became very angry and frustrated and disappointed. As that built, I became more and more involved - reading articles on politics, watching the debates, engaging in political discussions, and finally making calls for Kerry, and even canvassing on his behalf. It was energizing and exciting.
While the election was disappointing, and did shake my faith in the American electorate, I felt bad for the people who worked even harder than I did. I know that in any contest, there's only one winner, but I never failed to be impressed by the dedication of those people that were working tirelessly on behalf of the campaign, to make the world better. My parents, in particular, gave a ton of money and time to support the causes they championed, and I'm quite proud of them. They don't really need the government at this stage in their lives, but they don't stop fighting for justice, and that amazes me. There are many more people who are like that, and it's inspiring.
So, hence the title of this post. My efforts are going to be redoubled. I'm going to give more of myself, because I refuse to let this country be overrun by religious fanaticism, and reactionary hatred and anger and irrationality. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet, but you can be damn sure I'll get involved. And if you're upset about what's happening, I hope you'll join me. Go support a candidate. Work on a campaign. Find an advocacy group. Make a difference. America will be a beacon of hope and truth and righteousness to the world - it just might take a little longer that we all had hoped.
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