A lot of my friends have written things in response to their feelings about the election and they all reflect the same feeling of loss, of frustration, of trepidation, but additionally, I can’t think of a time when people have come, independently, to the same conclusions. Maybe there’s something positive in that, I don’t know. The interesting thing, is that people have the same feelings and thoughts about the elections, the issues in it, the reasons people voted a certain way, or didn’t and there’s been so little communication between people. I feel like my voice has been stolen and that any time I try to talk through my feelings about American politics, it comes out muddled and confused. Hopefully the words of my friends might articulate some of the things that I can’t.
My friend Jason writes in e-mail:
So it is over. I just watched Kerry concede and Bush declare victory.
There is a dull ache somewhere in my head and my stomach is cranky. I
feel the need to articulate something to somebody, and hope that makes
me feel better. Though, this could be read as my sour grapes. : )
A snippet from a CNN exit poll illustrates my concerns:
22% called “moral values” the election’s most important issue (79% of
those were backing Bush), 20% believed it was the economy (80% of those
were backing Kerry), 19% pointed to terrorism (~79% of those were for
Bush), and 15% pointed to Iraq (75% of those for Kerry).
Granted, exit polls are not the most reliable, but I suspect that this
is a good snap shot of reality. Here’s my take…
America is dangerously conservative and unabashedly uncritical–this is
the momentum of our electorate. They care more about the behavior of
same sex partners than they do about issues of import.
Republicans are good at conjuring red herrings that rely on fear and
moral issues–this is the momentum of our politics, and the media is
only fostering it. And the paucity of integrity and lack of
appreciation that people should come before profits afflicts politicians
on both sides.
Now Bush has a legitimate mandate, and this is scary. Before he ruled
by fiat of the Supreme Court and even then carried on with an air of
entitlement. What the Republicans do with this new vote of confidence
and the additional gains in Congress will be frightening. Expect bold
new appointments, sneaky politics, shady bills, and some Supreme Court
action.
Every other liberal jokes of moving out of the country (me included of
course), some seem serious. But we need a liberal (hell, even a
moderate) America more than ever, so I hope this attitude doesn’t give
way to political lethargy. The U.S. needs people like us to advocate
for the marginalized and the environment, and keep a watchful eye on our
military and economic misadventures. We’ll bring the debate to them and
get a productive discourse going. Our history has seen shittier times,
but through action, often at the behest of true leaders, people beat it.
So as the country becomes increasingly divided and as domestic and
global politics heat up, I believe that Republicans will be held to
account. I think we’ll be instrumental in this.
Think of this way. Without representatives to stand in for us, we’ve
got to own our politics more personally. So while we are out of power
formally, we will pick up the slack in our regular lives. In some
respect this is cool and empowering. We are on the offensive, we will
find solidarity, and we’ll meet success sooner or later.
My friend Becca writes on her livejournal:
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.resist.
please. it’s going to take all of us
My friend Mike, who I haven’t really talked to since we both lived in Edinburgh wrote in e-mail:
i’m completely devastated by this election, and it is not going away. i wonder if you feel the same. the only explanations are ones which shatter beliefs about this country that i need to be true: that it is not filled with stupid, silly people and that it is not easily cowed by political reduction of macroscopic problems.
