A Dark Day in America: Bush wins
Bush's popular vote outcome is not surprising to me. Bush has been always successful in fear mongering the "patriotic" base into loyal submission. That's been a hallmark of his administration. What I'm worried about is how, with all the Fahrenheit 9/11s, all the government leaks, the Paul o' Neils, Richard Holbrookes, Abu-Ghraib's, Al-Qaqaas, the dismal presidential debates (for Bush), the depressed economy, the ballooning of the federal deficit, the loss of millions of jobs, the absolutely Orwellian anti-environmental policy of this administration, the Leave No Child Left Behind initiative (entitled sarcastically by actual teachers as the "No Child Left Alive" act), the smearing of our international reputation like no other administration before, the unnecessary embroilment in Iraq, the fumbling of the ball with respect to finding Osama Bin Laden in Tora Bora, the Patriot Act and curtailment of liberties and so on....
How could the American people vote massively (by a 3-4 million vote margin) to re-elect this fool...this dangerous, arrogant fool? We in the U.S. can look forward to 4 more years of increased reactionary policies in government. With re-election now not an issue for Bush, with the Congress firmly in Republican hands, and with the Supreme Court looking to be shaped for the next decades by Bush, you're going to see some of the most reactionary bills in the history of the United States suddenly be taken off the shelves of Republican think-thanks and pressed on the Congress to be passed quickly and easily. Welcome to Bush's 2nd term!
In one way, I feel relieved. For years, I've tried to state to my friends that it's not just the "government" but "the people". There seems to be an unspoken taboo regarding accusing the American people to be the source of our bad government, but in this case, I think that the adage that a people "deserve the government they elect" proves true. How long are we supposed to look the other way to the fact that a large part of country holds increasingly ignorant and radical-religious views? Who are the voting for? The American people have chosen to ignore all the incredibly abundant signs of corruption and reactionary ultra-conservatism of this administration and have given control of the world's fate to this arrogant Cowboy from Texas, and his crew of corporate-ruled cadres, and neocon imperial fanatics....AGAIN. "Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on ME". And boy does it seem that we've been fooled! The first time the election was stolen...this time, we gave it to the thief!
Shame on you, American people. You were given a lot of facts and you ignored them, focusing more on whether you liked Bush's "confident" swagger than Kerry's more reserved style. Stylistic issues took precedence over hard facts. My message to Red States and Republicans: I don't want to see a single tear about dead soldiers anywhere on the globe from Red States or Republican families. You've forfeited your right to be legitimately to be angry about our embroilments abroad when you voted for the man who sent your sons/daughters to die unnecessarily. I don't want to hear laments about how we find ourselves still quagmired in Iraq and the President is saber-rattling about starting a War with Iran. I don't want to hear about how you felt uncomfortable in your last trip to pretty much all of Europe, Asia, Africa, or Latin America. I don't want to see a single cry of surprise or outrage if another terrorist attack does occur....we've had ample evidence to prove that Bush's arrogance has proved a recruiting boon for equally angry radical Islamists in the Middle East. We've made that easier for them, and an attack more likely. I don't want to hear a single complaint about gas prices going up or a Republican losing his job or the economy deepening its inequality...you knew who you were electing in this election and you knew his record on the economy. I don't want to hear about another "hero" who has died in foreign lands. If they truly were our heroes, we wouldn't have elected this President, which will assure that they stay in harm's way for more unnecessary reasons and for longer times. If you get searched on some airplane and detained at an airport, don't act indignant that they stopped you (a Republican); instead reflect on how you made it possible for the "big brother" government to continue, and worsen. If you have any integrity left, Republicans and Red States, you will suck up all "second-thoughts" in the Bush 2nd term and spare us, the Democrats, the pain, anger and anguish of having to say, "not only did we TELL YOU SO, you could see it for yourself for the last 4 years!". You knew...damnit, you knew what you were doing...and you still gave power to this dangerous fool.
We deserve the government we elected, we deserve the corruption, fearmongering, and war-waging that will occur in the 2nd term, we deserve every single part. We have nothing more to do than wade through Dante's last circle of hell and hope we come out the other side with some semblance of our Republic.
Jamie Foxer is an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts. She may be reached at jamiefoxer@hotmail.com
How could the American people vote massively (by a 3-4 million vote margin) to re-elect this fool...this dangerous, arrogant fool? We in the U.S. can look forward to 4 more years of increased reactionary policies in government. With re-election now not an issue for Bush, with the Congress firmly in Republican hands, and with the Supreme Court looking to be shaped for the next decades by Bush, you're going to see some of the most reactionary bills in the history of the United States suddenly be taken off the shelves of Republican think-thanks and pressed on the Congress to be passed quickly and easily. Welcome to Bush's 2nd term!
In one way, I feel relieved. For years, I've tried to state to my friends that it's not just the "government" but "the people". There seems to be an unspoken taboo regarding accusing the American people to be the source of our bad government, but in this case, I think that the adage that a people "deserve the government they elect" proves true. How long are we supposed to look the other way to the fact that a large part of country holds increasingly ignorant and radical-religious views? Who are the voting for? The American people have chosen to ignore all the incredibly abundant signs of corruption and reactionary ultra-conservatism of this administration and have given control of the world's fate to this arrogant Cowboy from Texas, and his crew of corporate-ruled cadres, and neocon imperial fanatics....AGAIN. "Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on ME". And boy does it seem that we've been fooled! The first time the election was stolen...this time, we gave it to the thief!
Shame on you, American people. You were given a lot of facts and you ignored them, focusing more on whether you liked Bush's "confident" swagger than Kerry's more reserved style. Stylistic issues took precedence over hard facts. My message to Red States and Republicans: I don't want to see a single tear about dead soldiers anywhere on the globe from Red States or Republican families. You've forfeited your right to be legitimately to be angry about our embroilments abroad when you voted for the man who sent your sons/daughters to die unnecessarily. I don't want to hear laments about how we find ourselves still quagmired in Iraq and the President is saber-rattling about starting a War with Iran. I don't want to hear about how you felt uncomfortable in your last trip to pretty much all of Europe, Asia, Africa, or Latin America. I don't want to see a single cry of surprise or outrage if another terrorist attack does occur....we've had ample evidence to prove that Bush's arrogance has proved a recruiting boon for equally angry radical Islamists in the Middle East. We've made that easier for them, and an attack more likely. I don't want to hear a single complaint about gas prices going up or a Republican losing his job or the economy deepening its inequality...you knew who you were electing in this election and you knew his record on the economy. I don't want to hear about another "hero" who has died in foreign lands. If they truly were our heroes, we wouldn't have elected this President, which will assure that they stay in harm's way for more unnecessary reasons and for longer times. If you get searched on some airplane and detained at an airport, don't act indignant that they stopped you (a Republican); instead reflect on how you made it possible for the "big brother" government to continue, and worsen. If you have any integrity left, Republicans and Red States, you will suck up all "second-thoughts" in the Bush 2nd term and spare us, the Democrats, the pain, anger and anguish of having to say, "not only did we TELL YOU SO, you could see it for yourself for the last 4 years!". You knew...damnit, you knew what you were doing...and you still gave power to this dangerous fool.
We deserve the government we elected, we deserve the corruption, fearmongering, and war-waging that will occur in the 2nd term, we deserve every single part. We have nothing more to do than wade through Dante's last circle of hell and hope we come out the other side with some semblance of our Republic.
Jamie Foxer is an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts. She may be reached at jamiefoxer@hotmail.com
posted by R7 | 11/04/2004 11:45:00 AM
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