Election
I am saddened today. Not because George W. Bush will be in office for another four years, or because the Republicans have gained more seats in the House and Senate, but because of the apathy that is sure to follow the President's win.The Associated Press released a a statement estimating 9 percent of voters Tuesday were 18 to 24, about the same proportion of the electorate as in 2000, exit polls indicated. The youth vote accounted for 17 percent of turnout when broadened to the 18-to-29 age group, also about the same share as in the last presidential race. The actual number of young voters was up, given that overall voter turnout was higher.
Now what?
Many could say that this election was the most heated in awhile. At the end of an election which brought frustrations among liberals and joy for the conservatives, what will happen with all of the raw emotion that was produced? Will the young people who fought for the good of our country continue to campaign? Perhaps not for a specific candidate, but for peace, hope, dignity, and unity for all of humanity.
I was in Sociology 205 when we heard about Kerry conceding. The room seemed to be filled with a stale melancholy. Knowone wanted to talk, there was a sense of defeat. A majority of the class were pro-Kerry, so it was a sad day. I sat feeling sucked into the emotion of it all, and I realized that my energy was lacking. The passionate zeal that I held weeks, days earlier for my beliefs and heart for our country was failing. I felt despondent. I sat feeling like I was going to cry, then I realized that it was going to be ok and that the world CAN be a better place if I choose to change it.
I loved that Kerry told George that we needed unity in our country and that he hoped we could begin the healing. I hope so to. I hope that we can start to break down the walls between republican and democrat and start to become humans again. Wouldn't that be nice? To live in a country where we could be who we were without feeling as if we need to be apart of a certain camp. To be free, to think, to live with passion for all of mankind.
Wouldn't that be great?
I will not be bitching about Bush anymore. I realized a majority of why I love Kerry so much is because he is not Bush. I am tired of talking about Bush, it is old. He is the president for the next 4 years and I am going to be fine with that. I think to be honest a lot of why I disliked Bush is because that is what I was socialized to think living in Portland, which is one of the most progressive cities in the nation.
Now Measure 36...
I am not done with this.
Hmm... I remember memorizing a few things in 9th grade..oh yes:
The Declaration of Independance(just the part I want to highlight)
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed.
Oh yes and our rights to speech, religion, sexual orientation, whether or not Jane and Sandy can marry....all in the Bill of Rights.
Why can't we see that we are taking away someone's unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
posted by Kat @ 10:49 PM
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