America the pitiful

[illusionofjoy]

I was up late last night watching the polls come in for the presidential election. From 8:00PM until a little past midnight, I watched George Bush take an early lead, only to have John Kerry rush past him when several northeastern states reported their results and then I watched as that glorious brief democratic lead was wept back under the rug again. I went to bed Tuesday night, the last poll indicating that Bush had the majority of the deciding electoral vote as well as a two point lead in the popular vote. The next morning, I bemoaned the fact that Ohio was setting up to be this year's Florida only to have Kerry concede the election to Bush around 11:00AM. The Republican incumbent had managed to do something I didn't think was possible: he won an election fair and square.

Liberated from the burden of having to protest the illegitimacy of the presidency this time around left me to reflect on the circumstances which led to this sad day for progressive ideals in the United States. The fact of the matter is that the will of the people, a narrow majority of 51%, has prevailed in this election. This election not only defined the presidency for the next four years, but reshaped the House to be more in line with the Executive branch and gave us eleven new states that have placed outright bans on not only gay marriage, but domestic partnerships as well (Ohio even goes so far as to ban heterosexual domestic partnerships).

I have tried to sit back and come to a logical conclusion as to why America would vote this way. Each and every time I can only make the same assumption: this nation is frightened to death. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt who said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." This was at the height of the Great Depression. Conversely, the the 21^st, over half of America seems to have taken to heart the Bush administration's meta messages of "be scared and complacent." It's sad, albeit, not entirely surprising.

The United States is on a path of homogenization, both domestically and internationally. Bush has four more years now to push his agenda of "pre-emptive" war, environmental pillaging, fiscal irresponsibility, a rollback of civil liberties, fear mongering, unfair tax policies and any other number of policies making life just a little more uncomfortable for the progressively-minded day by day. Half of America doesn't even seemed phased by this in the least, instead preferring the delusion that a little "security" is worth all the negativity which has come and is yet to come from the Bush camp.

I think that it is particularly telling that eleven states have placed outright bans on gay marriages - especially when these states had no laws permitting them in the first place. Where is the logic behind this? Heterosexual couples have done more to damage the "sanctity" of marriage in the past thirty years than any homosexuals could ever dream of or hope to do. Why are people so afraid of this minority? It is as if they see homosexuality as a disease which must be crushed, or - barring that - suppressed. But why does it matter if a pair of men or women in a non-traditional relationship want to express their union in a traditional manner?

It seems that America is desperately afraid of anything slightly different from what we perceive as normal. Iraq was invaded for it's oil - plain and simple - however, much of the public believes that the war over there was to ge rid of the big, bad Saddam Hussein, so that the Iraqi people would be liberated and able to enjoy the bounty of democracy - just like us. It worked for Afghanistan, didn't it? And those people just love us now! Iraq isn't any different (though it does get the lion's share of newspaper headlines these days).

Back in the early nineties, I recall reading a political cartoon criticising the first President Bush. It was a drawing of Saddam, writing a letter. The text was as follows: "Dear George, how are you doing? I'm writing to let you know that I am JUST FINE!" Replace Saddam with Osama, and you have a cartoon that could have effectively been recycled for this past election. As an aside, I'm certain that Bush II phoned daddy up and said, "aren't you proud of me? I did what you couldn't do!"

Many people have thrown about the idea of going to Canada in the wake of Bush's first legitimate victory. It's a nice idea, albeit flawed seeing as how any American wishing to immigrate will have to wait in line for their slice of the Maple Leaf, just like everyone else. Otherwise, Canada is more than happy to say, "come on over!"

I, for one, will not be hightailing it to Canada anytime in the near future. The prohibitive cost of moving being a non-issue (where there is a will, there is a way), I prefer standing up to the maelstrom and fighting the good fight until the bitter end. If there is one nation on the face of the globe which is in need of liberating, it is the United States. When I speak of liberation, I speak of mental liberation - an opening of minds. The most righteous war I can think of fighting today is the war on fear and ignorance. I would be proud to be in the army fighting in that war.

That said, I do have some predictions for the next four years. First and foremost: the rift dividing this nation will not heal anytime soon. Despite both candidates imploring America to come together in the wake of this election, I feel that the fundamental differences in ideologies will keep us apart and the political arena is only going to become more bitter - especially with the majority being elected by such a slim margin. Personally, I can not see myself backing President Bush any time in the near future, unless he suddenly does an about face on nearly all of his policies.

The war in Iraq will continue and more Americans will die as the current "backdoor draft" becomes the much denied actual draft. Conditions in that nation will continue to deteriorate and we will either be forced out or abandon it in the wake of a civil war or a mass insurgency. Given the Bush track record, I fully expect that another nation will be invaded after we're "done" with Iraq. Rumour has it that Iran is next up on the chopping block.

The budget deficit will reach ever higher levels, eclipsing the records set by the Bush administration in their first term. Bush has promised to half the deficit and create more tax cuts, however, these two goals are mutually exclusive - you can't have it both ways. Bush doesn't live in the real world, however. Expect the rich to become much richer and the rest of us to take yet another one even deeper in an orifice generally regarded as an exit.

Civil liberties will continue to erode - especially in the arenas of women's rights, the homosexual community and minorities. Abortions, though I doubt they will be outlawed, will become excruciatingly difficult to obtain. An amendment banning gay marriage won't be passed, however, it is more likely that several laws defining marriage in the traditional sense will be. As for minorities - well, has anyone heard any news from Camp X-Ray lately or has that fallen down the memory hole?

The next four years aren't going to be pretty and with a legitimate vote on his side this time, I suspect that the Bush administration is going to be much more ballsy, regarding their policies. John Kerry may have lost the election, however, the time for fighting is far from over. If anything, this is the time for that half of America who didn't vote for the illegitimate incumbent to rise up and put him in his place: let him know that we don't see him as a brave leader with carte blanche to do whatever he wants, but as a public servant hired by the majority who now has to deal with the minority who didn't want him in the job as well. The time has come to force the government to work for you, rather than letting the government work you. One thing to remember about any member of a public office is that they aren't allowed to do whatever they want and it is up to the public to remind them of this fact as often as possible.

If Bush truly wants this nation to come together, he had better be prepared for a return of checks and balances and we'd better be prepared to give him those checks and balances. If we don't, then we truly are America the pitiful. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to stand up against social injustices.

Comments

[joi-division.livejournal.com]

I'm always worried about the higher powers taking away abortion...but ever since reading this in leopardprints journal- this is what keeps me up at night.

W.'s motto should be, "Ignorance is Bliss."

[slinkybetty.livejournal.com]

Well, he's probably put it "ignorance are bliss", or something along those lines.

[serpentskirts.livejournal.com]

You should be more worried about them taking away birth control, because they hope that it will follow the ban on abortion.

[xeyli.livejournal.com]

I've actually always been semi-interested in moving to Canada. I just knew it's not affordable for me.

There's a comment I posted in Masochistmonkey's journal which I'd copy/paste in here, but I am getting late for school.