No Acceptance. No Concession.

[tmcg]

I looked at that big honkin' swath of red in the middle of the United States-shaped television graphic for hours and hours last night.

I thought, I don't live where I thought I lived.

I thought, Fine. You fuckers want him, you got him. You think a tanked economy is a good thing, you got it. You think what we've done to Iraq is a good thing, you got it. You think we're safer now? You go right ahead. You want it, you got it, and I wish you joy of it.

I thought, I live on a fringe. A literal fringe. There's my little blue chunk in the Northeast, and there's that little blue stretch of West Coast, and that's it. I really thought there were more of us. I had no idea.

I thought, No. There's more blue out there than that. A lot of those red states only went something like 51% for Bush. The red is a deceptive visual. Split some of those states half red and half blue and you've got a more accurate representation of how people voted. But what does that mean? Is this a civil war?

I thought, I should get out of this place. Go live in Ireland. Newfoundland. Cape Breton. Tasmania. So many of my friends joked bitterly that if Bush won on Tuesday they were out of here. N/o/n/e/ Few of them meant it. We're complacent. Our lives are good here. Maybe we should mean it. Maybe we should think about seriously meaning it. I don't know if I want to pledge my allegiance to what this country is anymore.

I thought, It's not over. I remember feeling this way when Reagan was reelected, and we survived that. It's historical rubato. It just means we have to fight harder. Protest harder, speak out more loudly, do more, wake up. We can't go back to sleep. No matter how disheartened we are, we can't crawl under the covers now, we can't roll over. What's good about this country is still worth fighting for.

I thought, What if it's not? What if this really is the way it's going, what if this really is what the majority want, what if we really are just going to be the bad guys and that's just the way it is?

As I write this, Edwards is on introducing Kerry for his concession speech, saying that at the bottom of our disheartenment today resides a hope that a better America is still worth fighting for. I'm so tired of election rhetoric. I'm so tired of wanting to believe in words like that. But as I finish writing this, Kerry is on, and he's talking about what will stay with us from this campaign. "The time will come, the election will come, when your work and your ballots will change the world, and it's worth fighting for." And I think, Maybe there's some momentum here that can continue, that won't fade away.

It's a very small thought. My disheartenment, my appalledness, is very large. I don't see healing ahead. I see grueling battle or defeated withdrawal. But he's saying "our fight goes on." And I guess that's what I'd like to think.

Don't Mourn, Organize

Comments

[daerlynn.livejournal.com]

I agree with your sentiments entirely, irongall. It's depressing and disheartening to see that this is the type of country people here want - and the total lack of understanding the issues that voters from both sides exhibit.

gfjames, you are right. However, although most voters are indeed god-fearing, the lie is that the Republican party is the party of God, or of Christianity, or as I like to put it, the party of the moral high ground.

The fact that this is believed despite all evidence to the contrary leads me to believe that people just have no clue what Christianity means; that they only believe what they are told irregardless of the truth of the matter; and that they have absolutely no clue what is going on.

[gfjames.livejournal.com]

You'll get no argument from me about the "belief" of being Christian and actually being christian. It's the same (well, virtually, at least) as saying you're "liberal" and actually being liberal.

And as far as the "people" go, we're a pretty easy lot to please, just spoon feed us the pablum and we're a happy bunch. Nobody ever wants to really swallow the truth of our politicians action, it be way too bitter a taste. Instead we prefer the seasoning that our so-called leaders provide and eat with gusto whatever they put on our plate.

Playing the game of democracy ain't easy, it's even harder when not everybody suits up.

[terrymcgarry.livejournal.com]

daerlynn, yes. I saw the post in your LJ about this and I wanted to respond, but I have trouble articulating my discomfort with this, so I held off. I don't understand how or why the Republican Party has become burdened (and, frighteningly, empowered) by this "moral" righteousness. I suppose the "empowered" part is key; it's an effective way to manipulate people and insure the support of people whose interests you aren't actually promoting or protecting, while making them fiercely certain that you are.