Angry

It looks like Bush has won the election. I can’t believe it. He has screwed over the environment, education, and the economy, he has lied about terrorism and has waged war against the wrong guy in the wrong country… and he’s an inarticulate buffoon whose verbal flubs are an embarrassment to the country. He has pitted us against the rest of the world in an “us against them” mentality that can only hurt us in years to come. But what does it come down to in the election? Terrorism and “moral issues,” which probably means votes from evangelical Christians and people who feel threatened by homosexuals.

I know I’m not being fair here. But damnit, I’m angry. We now have a Republican in the White House and a Republican Congress–both the Senate and the House. Bush is likely to appoint Supreme Court justices during his next four years. That’s executive, legislative, and judicial, folks, the three branches of government. I don’t care whether you support him or not, you should not be pleased to see this. America wasn’t set up for one party to rule like this. I don’t for a minute buy this “the people have spoken” mentality. Sure, the people have spoken, and 48% of them are against Bush, not even counting all those Kerry supporters who didn’t vote in places like California. I fully expect the Republican party to use their victory as evidence that the nation stands behind them unanimously, that since they’ve won, well, everything, they now have divine and popular mandate to do whatever they like.

I feel cheated, frankly, and sincerely confused that the country has come to this. Suppose the country really does stand staunchly behind its chief cowboy. Just looking at the red-versus-blue map, I’m frightened to see that the vast majority of this nation is red. You’ve seen it, we’re talking democrats as an aberration. How can this be when there are so many people out there who I know are angry and frustrated at what this administration has wrought? Some people are talking of leaving the country in protest. I know people who already have. Part of me wants to follow their lead. Can I possibly belong in this country, when so much of it stands in direct opposition to my beliefs? But another part of me is so angry I don’t want to leave, I want to fight for what we’re not getting. I want to see the electoral system crumbled and I want to see everyone voting because they know their vote counts. I want to see serious change in this country. I want the Democrats to recoup and come back stronger. I want to see average citizens working to inform themselves through some other channel (no pun intended) than Fox News, and I want to see a media centered around journalistic duty, not ratings. I want to witness a decline in the power of large corporations and rich individuals. I want to see America listening to the world and cooperating with it, not acting against it. I want America to make me proud. Not frustrated, angry, and bewildered.

I think those of us who oppose Bush, who don’t believe he and his posse represent our interests, need to stand up for what we want and demand change. And this would be my message even if Kerry won, because there’s no guarantee he would be the change we desire. This is a bitterly divided nation and things are only going to go downhill from here. More than ever, this is not the time to be complacent.

[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]