The thing about this election
The thing about this election is that it's so close and people are so scared. I know some people who are afraid that if Bush wins, by 2008 America will have its own version of a KGB and people who criticize the government in any way will disappear from their houses and never be heard from again. And I know people who are that if Kerry wins, Israel's borders will retract far enough so that the only remaining land will be maybe a two-block radius in Tel Aviv until the few survivors finally cave and all emigrate to America.
For me, the scariest thing about the election is that (and I'm only half-joking when I say this) I'm afraid that if Bush wins, half of my friends list is going to commit suicide.
I dislike both candidates. I will not be pleased no matter what the outcome of the election is. And I'd probably have given it more thought if I didn't live in New Jersey, where all fifteen of our electoral votes will go to Kerry with or without my vote, but luckily, I live in one of those states where my vote doesn't count, so I can vote for whomever in the world I want (assuming s/he was born in America and is over thirty-five) without feeling like an Nader-voter in Ohio. I may or may not have voted for one of the two main candidates. But I voted.
But it worries me how high people are hanging their hopes on this election. If Bush is re-elected, yes, gay rights are not going to improve (or they might, but not by his doing). But he's not going to take away anyone's right to vote, and he's not going to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling on that Texas case. What really matters is the way people are treated in day-to-day life, and because of that whole free speech thing, the president's opinion has never carried more weight than anyone else's. I highly doubt that his marriage amendment would pass, but even if it does, amendments aren't permanent. Remember when it was illegal in this country to drink alcohol? (Neither do I.) And he's not going to eliminate free speech. Sure, there are individuals who are going to try and contain you (like there always have been and always will be), but the media is louder than any of them, and nobody's being sent to forced labor camps in Siberia.
And if Kerry is elected, then yes, he may ask things of Israel that aren't fair. But he's not going to force anyone to do anything--he recognizes that Israel is an independent country. (And if you ask me, people who are worried about land being given away should focus more on the Israeli elections as opposed to the American ones.) He's not going to give Hamas nuclear weapons. And he's also not going to put Saddam Hussein back into power.
I think I may be coming out of the closet as an optimist.
For me, the scariest thing about the election is that (and I'm only half-joking when I say this) I'm afraid that if Bush wins, half of my friends list is going to commit suicide.
I dislike both candidates. I will not be pleased no matter what the outcome of the election is. And I'd probably have given it more thought if I didn't live in New Jersey, where all fifteen of our electoral votes will go to Kerry with or without my vote, but luckily, I live in one of those states where my vote doesn't count, so I can vote for whomever in the world I want (assuming s/he was born in America and is over thirty-five) without feeling like an Nader-voter in Ohio. I may or may not have voted for one of the two main candidates. But I voted.
But it worries me how high people are hanging their hopes on this election. If Bush is re-elected, yes, gay rights are not going to improve (or they might, but not by his doing). But he's not going to take away anyone's right to vote, and he's not going to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling on that Texas case. What really matters is the way people are treated in day-to-day life, and because of that whole free speech thing, the president's opinion has never carried more weight than anyone else's. I highly doubt that his marriage amendment would pass, but even if it does, amendments aren't permanent. Remember when it was illegal in this country to drink alcohol? (Neither do I.) And he's not going to eliminate free speech. Sure, there are individuals who are going to try and contain you (like there always have been and always will be), but the media is louder than any of them, and nobody's being sent to forced labor camps in Siberia.
And if Kerry is elected, then yes, he may ask things of Israel that aren't fair. But he's not going to force anyone to do anything--he recognizes that Israel is an independent country. (And if you ask me, people who are worried about land being given away should focus more on the Israeli elections as opposed to the American ones.) He's not going to give Hamas nuclear weapons. And he's also not going to put Saddam Hussein back into power.
I think I may be coming out of the closet as an optimist.