(no subject)
I wasn't going to post on the election...because, honestly, the last thing I want is to get into a political discussion on my LJ. (And, yes, politics affects all of our lives, but I still don't enjoy discussing it. It's one of the guaranteed ways to start needless fights among people who usually get along.) I'm just seeing so much utter outrage on my flist, I felt the need to do some venting of my own.
For the record, I did not vote for Bush. (Since that would seem to matter to some people.) But it's not because I don't like the man. I don't like some of the things he does, and I especially don't like many of the people with whom he has chosen to surround himself. (Personally, I think things may have gone very differently if he had chosen different individuals for certain positions.) Thinking back to the terrorist attack three years ago, however, I do still believe that not many people could have handled the aftermath better than he did during those first few terrible months. Does this mean that every choice he's made since then has been a good one? Absolutely not. But just because I opted not to vote for him this time around does not leave me completely scandalized at his apparent victory. To hear that people are ashamed to live in this country because of one man is very sad to me.
Once, during an interview, John F. Kennedy expressed his displeasure at certain presidents being labeled as "failures" by the public. He said no one knows what passes over a president's desk during the course of his term. Even other presidents can not compare because each one faces different challenges, answers different calls, deals with different problems, works with different people, and fights different battles. And no one can see his day from the perspective in which he sees it.
And we can not see what Bush has done from other people's perspectives either. My brother, for example, is a military man. And he voted for Bush. Clearly, in looking at the war through the eyes of someone who could become directly involved in it at any moment, he sees something worthwhile there. Just because I voted differently doesn't make my brother wrong.
What I feel is this: It's a very close election, and, as of this posting, it's still not officially over. The man who was meant to win, will win. He will do what he needs to do, and the next term's challenges will be met the way they were meant to. Bush is not a monster. He wasn't my personal choice this time, but he's not an evil man and he's not deliberately "out to get us." Kerry, if he wins, has his share of flaws as well -- which will undoubtedly come to light should he claim victory. (Let's face it, no matter who wins, each term in office would have probably come with a different-but-equal brand of suckiness.) Our country and our leaders are not perfect. We do the best we can.
Don't feel sorry for our country. Our country will be alright.
For the record, I did not vote for Bush. (Since that would seem to matter to some people.) But it's not because I don't like the man. I don't like some of the things he does, and I especially don't like many of the people with whom he has chosen to surround himself. (Personally, I think things may have gone very differently if he had chosen different individuals for certain positions.) Thinking back to the terrorist attack three years ago, however, I do still believe that not many people could have handled the aftermath better than he did during those first few terrible months. Does this mean that every choice he's made since then has been a good one? Absolutely not. But just because I opted not to vote for him this time around does not leave me completely scandalized at his apparent victory. To hear that people are ashamed to live in this country because of one man is very sad to me.
Once, during an interview, John F. Kennedy expressed his displeasure at certain presidents being labeled as "failures" by the public. He said no one knows what passes over a president's desk during the course of his term. Even other presidents can not compare because each one faces different challenges, answers different calls, deals with different problems, works with different people, and fights different battles. And no one can see his day from the perspective in which he sees it.
And we can not see what Bush has done from other people's perspectives either. My brother, for example, is a military man. And he voted for Bush. Clearly, in looking at the war through the eyes of someone who could become directly involved in it at any moment, he sees something worthwhile there. Just because I voted differently doesn't make my brother wrong.
What I feel is this: It's a very close election, and, as of this posting, it's still not officially over. The man who was meant to win, will win. He will do what he needs to do, and the next term's challenges will be met the way they were meant to. Bush is not a monster. He wasn't my personal choice this time, but he's not an evil man and he's not deliberately "out to get us." Kerry, if he wins, has his share of flaws as well -- which will undoubtedly come to light should he claim victory. (Let's face it, no matter who wins, each term in office would have probably come with a different-but-equal brand of suckiness.) Our country and our leaders are not perfect. We do the best we can.
Don't feel sorry for our country. Our country will be alright.