But I feel numb. Not surprised. Not astonished. I just had this last piece of hope that maybe there would be a miracle turn, that maybe a few more people would wake up... but whatever evil force directed this election, it pissed on that last glimmer of hope as well.
What I don't understand is that after all the lies, the scandalous behaviour and attitude, the fascist agenda of the Bush administration have been exposed, people still chose Bush. I remind myself consciously that this was "just" half of the country... and that what is going on over there is not a democracy anyway (inspite of what that Republican dude said yesterday on the news).
Democracy is based on an informed public making decisions based on that information. But the information war that has been going on, the fearmongering, the lies, the confusion as to what is true and what isn't, wasn't exactly a good starting point.
Fuckin hell, who am I kidding???? Bush was re-elected inspite of all the shit he did, inspite of it all being publicly known. People didn't mind to be lied to, to support an immoral war, to see the environment being fucked up with redneck glee, to see human and civil rights being washed down the toilet, and seriously, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN?!!
What kind of failure of responsibility is that???? How could people be convinced by the cheap rhetorics Bush had to offer???
Someone said that before, the world just despised the Bush administration, but if he gets re-elected, the world will despise America as well - because they chose this knob again. To be honest, I know way too many Americans (including Bush supporters, who, even if I don't agree with them on this issue, are the dearest people in the world to me) to "hate" them now. I don't. I still love America. And remember, it is just half the country. I am just disappointed. I am bitterly disappointed.
Yes, I may be called a bad loser. But fuckin hell, people, this isn't a game! This is life, this is the planet being shit on, and it affects all of us. This is serious business, and I AM UPSET ABOUT IT, because it means that the world will slip even further down the drain in the next four years.
These elections were a lot about limiting the damage, but apparently, a few million people didn't give a fuck.
My friend (and media and political science expert) Roman Gerodimos wrote an excellent article about it, and he just gave me permission to post it here (Thank you Roman!!!).
Fasten your seatbelts.
© 2004 By Roman Gerodimos
Created: 03-Nov-04
Let's brace ourselves for four more years of environmental destruction, international anarchy, global theocracy, tax cuts for the rich and ignorance. This is so bad at so many levels; you don't need to be a political scientist to see the impact on the structure, culture and discourse of politics.
We are essentially moving back to the 1950s / 1980s into a right-wing, religious
consensus. It's very likely that the next Democratic candidate will try to move
to the right in order to attract those "swing" voters, but that would
essentially equal accepting a right-wing consensus.I've spent my life studying,
thinking, writing, working in and being enthusiastic about politics and in times
like these it's extremely easy to become frustrated, disenchanted, disengaged,
apathetic - it's easy for me, let alone for a first time voter.But it's now more
than ever that each and every one of us needs to be strong and give 110% for the
causes and issues we believe in. If the US Administration won't do it, then it's
up to us to do it. Be it giving $5 per month on a charity, helping out those
that are less well-off, cutting down fossil fuel emissions or educating others
about poverty and global problems, treating our fellow human beings with respect
irrespective of their background.They say that that which doesn't kill you, only
makes you stronger. Tonight I'm almost dead emotionally. But not quite dead yet.
Fasten your seatbelts. We're in for a ride.
"This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all. And the dead will be commemorated, and we'll struggle on with the living, and we are not going away. We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come." - Angels in America (Tony Kushner).
Also, Wil Wheaton put it once more into very appropriate and accurate words:
"Apparently, my country holds a fundamentally different set of values than I thought we did, and that scares the shit out of me. I still believe that Bush is bad for America, and I'm virtually certain that the next four years will be an absolute disaster. Not just because we have gotten four more years of the Bush agenda, but because this election has been an enthusiastic endorsement of that agenda."God - who is neither Republican nor Democrat, mind you!!! - help us.
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