Jesus Lordy you guys, I just have to talk about the election.
I guess I will start off with the sour grapes, seeming as how the rest of the world's press
decided to go that route. For instance, The Daily Mirror-a British tabloid- had a picture of
GW Bush with the headline "How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?". I can understand
the frustration the rest of the world must be experiencing, when the most powerful nation
on earth elects a man whose foreign policy rests solely on ethnocentric views, not to
mention the fact that Bush apparently has no trouble telling people his decision to go to
war was validated by god himself. From an outsider's perspective, the reasons why so
many Americans could vote for this man will be an enigma. To the average American,
however, the reasons are clear. Just turn on any cable news debate show and you will be
bombarded with the many tenants that make up the culture war. These tenants, dealing
with things such as abortion, gun control, gay marriage, Janet Jackson's exposed tit and so
forth, triggers a moral outrage within the psychological make-up of Red state America.
This outrage was of course perpetuated by the most powerful political synergies working
in America today, namely the Christian Coalition and the NRA. Defending traditional
family values from the "secular Liberal elite" thus became the preeminent issue for many
Americans, even trumping the economy and national security.
Now, speaking for myself, I wonder where exactly Conservatives get their moral
authority. Just a brief overview of the first four years of the Bush administration would
seem to repulse rather than edify. An unnecessary war which has claimed the lives of
thousands, increasing the corporate welfare state at the expense of the poor and destitute,
rescinding vital laws which protect the environment, and letting the number of Americans
without proper health insurance rise to almost 50 million are just a few of the egregious
crimes against humanity this administration has committed. Yet Conservatives have
seemed to have hijacked the national discourse, painting the left as morally bankrupt. The
word "liberal" itself now seems to mean "godless, baby-killing, sodomite". Progressive issues such as a living wage, national health care, reducing the military budget, and creating a rational foreign policy built around peace and diplomacy rather than war and arrogance are all
taken off the table-which is sad because it seems like these SHOULD be the issues forming the basis of America's moral compass.
Not that the election of John Kerry would make me feel all tingly, although it would have been a vast improvement to have a more moderate president at the helms(remember the days of Clinton when the country was fun?). If you ask where Kerry went wrong during his campaign, I would say he didn't take full advantage of the political allies he had right in front of him. I mean, come on, he had Bright Eyes the whole time. If John Kerry would have just had Bright Eyes introduce him at every speech he made across the country, he would have recieved millions of more votes from women ages 18-24 (Girls LOVE the Bright Eyes). Its either that or make a guest appearance on the OC. Oh well, its a little late for could'ves.
In the end it just seems ironic that America's fall into perdition came under the aegis of the Christian
Right.
Quote of the day: "Let boys want pleasure, and men struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame. And the servile to to serve a leader and the dupes to be duped. Yours is not theirs.
-Robinson Jeffers
decided to go that route. For instance, The Daily Mirror-a British tabloid- had a picture of
GW Bush with the headline "How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?". I can understand
the frustration the rest of the world must be experiencing, when the most powerful nation
on earth elects a man whose foreign policy rests solely on ethnocentric views, not to
mention the fact that Bush apparently has no trouble telling people his decision to go to
war was validated by god himself. From an outsider's perspective, the reasons why so
many Americans could vote for this man will be an enigma. To the average American,
however, the reasons are clear. Just turn on any cable news debate show and you will be
bombarded with the many tenants that make up the culture war. These tenants, dealing
with things such as abortion, gun control, gay marriage, Janet Jackson's exposed tit and so
forth, triggers a moral outrage within the psychological make-up of Red state America.
This outrage was of course perpetuated by the most powerful political synergies working
in America today, namely the Christian Coalition and the NRA. Defending traditional
family values from the "secular Liberal elite" thus became the preeminent issue for many
Americans, even trumping the economy and national security.
Now, speaking for myself, I wonder where exactly Conservatives get their moral
authority. Just a brief overview of the first four years of the Bush administration would
seem to repulse rather than edify. An unnecessary war which has claimed the lives of
thousands, increasing the corporate welfare state at the expense of the poor and destitute,
rescinding vital laws which protect the environment, and letting the number of Americans
without proper health insurance rise to almost 50 million are just a few of the egregious
crimes against humanity this administration has committed. Yet Conservatives have
seemed to have hijacked the national discourse, painting the left as morally bankrupt. The
word "liberal" itself now seems to mean "godless, baby-killing, sodomite". Progressive issues such as a living wage, national health care, reducing the military budget, and creating a rational foreign policy built around peace and diplomacy rather than war and arrogance are all
taken off the table-which is sad because it seems like these SHOULD be the issues forming the basis of America's moral compass.
Not that the election of John Kerry would make me feel all tingly, although it would have been a vast improvement to have a more moderate president at the helms(remember the days of Clinton when the country was fun?). If you ask where Kerry went wrong during his campaign, I would say he didn't take full advantage of the political allies he had right in front of him. I mean, come on, he had Bright Eyes the whole time. If John Kerry would have just had Bright Eyes introduce him at every speech he made across the country, he would have recieved millions of more votes from women ages 18-24 (Girls LOVE the Bright Eyes). Its either that or make a guest appearance on the OC. Oh well, its a little late for could'ves.
In the end it just seems ironic that America's fall into perdition came under the aegis of the Christian
Right.
Quote of the day: "Let boys want pleasure, and men struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame. And the servile to to serve a leader and the dupes to be duped. Yours is not theirs.
-Robinson Jeffers