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Okay, this post may be exasperating, but I'm pretty exasperated myself. I joined facebook a few months ago, and ended up catching up with some people I used to know in my high school youth group. Seemed cool until election time neared. Then I began to realize not everyone who grows up fundamentalist becomes more rational and open-minded as time ( Read more... )
Second, I was experiencing a similar problem, but mine was the flip side of this -- people being obnoxious and gloating about Obama winning. I had a few of the ones like you mentioned above, but a wall of "Yes we can!" and "MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK" and "Finally, after 8 years, the stupid people didn't win" and "a lot of people finally didn't get their way for once... welcome to the real world. Welcome to life for the rest of us.. Suck it up." (btw, written by one of the most privileged black kids I know... A friend responded to him saying about that status, "Ha lol urs is kinda soft but my status is bold lol read it" and then posted the status in question: "is sorry to say this but lmao n wondering how many white ppl are committing suicide bc of who the president is now! ha! (its a southern joke) BARACK OBAMA 08".)
I didn't vote for Obama because I am VERY opposed to expanding the government's size, reach, and power; I think we need to go in the other direction altogether, while he seems to think the government is key to everyone's happiness. I didn't vote for McCain, either, because most of all, I just dislike the man and have very little respect for him. So I knew I wasn't going to be happy no matter which of them won -- it was going to either be drastic change in a direction I feel is wrong, or more of the same, which is also not good. However, the conduct of people, either actively provoking the other side or simply showing disregard for the fact that about half of the country disagrees with their point of view (and didn't vote for the winner, in the case of the gloaters), was disappointing to say the least.
Thankfully, it's calmed down.
Also, my own initial doomsday thoughts have been turning more into hope that I'll be pleasantly surprised. I will not be happy if Obama starts delivering everything he promised people and does the whole campaigning-while-in-office thing I suspect he may do, but if he has the guts to say "No, we can't" on a regular basis, I think I may not only respect but admire him. Most of my favorite politicians are people I don't agree with on all the issues but who I respect because they're not afraid to piss people off and make hard decisions when they have to.
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No doubt there are plenty of obnoxious Obama supporters as well because, at least in my opinions, there are a lot of obnoxious people out there period. And if I ran across someone like that, I'd be pretty turned off by that too--I was actually thinking about much of the department at good old AU, and how happy I was I didn't have to be there Wednesday morning to see them trumpeting in the hallways.
What bothered me about the specific people I mentioned was that they had such a (to my mind) distorted hatred of Obama. It wasn't enough to say "I don't agree with his taxation plan" or "I don't like his Iraq strategy." Instead it became a whole laundry list of personal attacks, from socialism to terrorism to his supposed Islam to his not even being a "real" American. These are ad hominem attacks that we would "X" out on a freshman comp paper, but it's acceptable in important public discourse for some reason.
I guess that got to the heart of what I did not want from this election: extreme partisanship. The issues certainly mean something to me--for instance, I agree with Obama on Iraq, and while I don't necessarily want "socialized medicine" (which seems to be an ill-defined term thrown around a lot), I do think too many Americans don't have insurance and can't afford it. But at the same time, I've gotten so tired of the partisan tone of not just Washington but so much of our country. I wanted someone who committed to working for all Americans, not just those who had a "D" or an "R" after their names. I'm not naive, and I understand Obama may be a disappointment, but I really responded to his tone. McCain, once he picked Palin, seemed to take a hard turn to the right and began ramping up character attacks, turning his back on the moderate stance that had won him the Republican nomination in the first place. That turned me off big time. He seemed to pander to partisanship instead of repudiating it.
The idea that Iran would bomb Israel because Obama doesn't support the military, or that he will buddy up with the Iranian leadership, or that he is less American because someone said he painted over a flag on his plane--this way of thinking saddens and angers me, and seems to contribute to the deep divisions among Americans. Sheesh!
The last couple of administrations have inspired such hatred and knee-jerk defense, that I just sincerely desire a more civil and respectful four years. Maybe I should know better!
Anyway, did you vote for Bob Barr? Write in Ron Paul? I don't know if you still teach for AU at all or just LaGrange, but if you do work at AU, you must have heard some crazy stuff...
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And I happened to have car problems that had me stuck in LaGrange on Wednesday, so I missed the in-person stuff. That may have been God looking out for the safety of others, or the safety of my job...
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My stupid state has made it so tough to get on the ballot that we only had the big two to choose from (and no write-ins allowed)... :(
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
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Johnny Illuminati
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Our state is simply sewn up by the big parties. We're the most restrictive when it comes to Presidential candidates. The citizens are for the most part too stupid or lazy (or both) to care.
We didn't even have Teddy Roosevelt on the ballot in 1912!
http://www.okvoterchoice.org/winger.html
Ugh...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
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