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Nov. 5th, 2004 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickI've been watching the election aftermath on assorted daily reads of mine, and it's ugly. I feel like I ought to say I'm sorry for voting the way I did or that I ought to try to explain myself so that they could understand, but I get the general impression that they're not interested in listening. I'm damn tired of hearing my side presented (and immediately dismissed) as the ignorant redneck side of things. I am not an ignorant redneck. Despite all indications to the contrary, I have a working brain.
I read a solid post about what is wrong with the democratic party... and I think maybe if some of them read it, they'll be able to understand the divide at hand. Maybe not. Maybe we really are ignorant rednecks, we who vote Redpublican instead of Dembluecrat.
I want to vote for someone who supports homosexual unions or marriages. I want to vote for someone who supports abortion rights. I want to vote for a candidate who will uphold my right to keep and bear arms, even extremely dangerous arms used for killing other people. I want to vote for a candidate who understands that one cannot negotiate with madmen, one can only kill them. I want to vote for a candidate who believes in my right to privacy. I want to vote for a candidate who realizes that Saudi Arabia is not our friend no matter how many ads their people run on our radio stations. I want to vote for a candidate who treats the constitution with respect and does not rush to amend it in any currently-trendy direction. I want to vote for a candidate who believes in keeping church and state apart rather than one who tips Rohypnol in state's fruity girl drink while elbowing church in the side and telling him he's a sly dog. I want to vote for a candidate who doesn't rape the environment terribly. I want to vote for a candidate who does not immediately suggest government programs for all social ills. I want to vote for a candidate who fosters research and nurtures the sciences, for our progress (economic, medical, scientific) is built upon the foundation the intellectuals create in labs and universities. I want to vote for a candidate who appoints supreme court justices who enforce what the law is, acting with due consideration and gravity rather than pushing their own social agendas in either direction.
And, y'know, people in hell want ice water.
The United States is an ark. She carries us, our families, our pets, and everything we hold dear, safely through a hostile and dangerous ocean. Now, our ark is not perfect. She's got some issues -- she could use a new coat of paint. Her deck needs to be recaulked and she's got barnacles and cruft on her hull. She's short a sea anchor and the rudder is a jury-rigged setup that probably won't hold through another storm. Yep, there are some issues, and folks are rightly concerned about these issues because many of them, if not seen to here directly, will cause very serious problems down the road. However, our ark also has a hole in the bottom and there's water coming in at a hell of a clip... something that is a bit more immediate than some caulking on deck and a fresh coat of paint. Now, we, as a nation, can spend our time fixing all the other stuff and we'll have a great looking boat when she goes down, or we can tend to the problem that is most pressing and still have an ark to work with come 2008.
John Kerry was going to spruce up the rest of the boat while hoping some friendly sailors on other boats happened by to help us out with the hole problem Real Soon Now. George W. was in the bilges trying to fix the hole. He's not the best carpenter in the world, hitting his thumb with the hammer and swearing a blue streak, but he's making some progress on it and it looks like he'll prevail. The patch he's building will be ugly -- it's clear he's no craftsman -- but I expect it'll be enough to keep the ark from sinking. It might even buy us enough time to fix some of the other stuff, before we have to hire another inept carpenter. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.
I read a solid post about what is wrong with the democratic party... and I think maybe if some of them read it, they'll be able to understand the divide at hand. Maybe not. Maybe we really are ignorant rednecks, we who vote Redpublican instead of Dembluecrat.
I want to vote for someone who supports homosexual unions or marriages. I want to vote for someone who supports abortion rights. I want to vote for a candidate who will uphold my right to keep and bear arms, even extremely dangerous arms used for killing other people. I want to vote for a candidate who understands that one cannot negotiate with madmen, one can only kill them. I want to vote for a candidate who believes in my right to privacy. I want to vote for a candidate who realizes that Saudi Arabia is not our friend no matter how many ads their people run on our radio stations. I want to vote for a candidate who treats the constitution with respect and does not rush to amend it in any currently-trendy direction. I want to vote for a candidate who believes in keeping church and state apart rather than one who tips Rohypnol in state's fruity girl drink while elbowing church in the side and telling him he's a sly dog. I want to vote for a candidate who doesn't rape the environment terribly. I want to vote for a candidate who does not immediately suggest government programs for all social ills. I want to vote for a candidate who fosters research and nurtures the sciences, for our progress (economic, medical, scientific) is built upon the foundation the intellectuals create in labs and universities. I want to vote for a candidate who appoints supreme court justices who enforce what the law is, acting with due consideration and gravity rather than pushing their own social agendas in either direction.
And, y'know, people in hell want ice water.
The United States is an ark. She carries us, our families, our pets, and everything we hold dear, safely through a hostile and dangerous ocean. Now, our ark is not perfect. She's got some issues -- she could use a new coat of paint. Her deck needs to be recaulked and she's got barnacles and cruft on her hull. She's short a sea anchor and the rudder is a jury-rigged setup that probably won't hold through another storm. Yep, there are some issues, and folks are rightly concerned about these issues because many of them, if not seen to here directly, will cause very serious problems down the road. However, our ark also has a hole in the bottom and there's water coming in at a hell of a clip... something that is a bit more immediate than some caulking on deck and a fresh coat of paint. Now, we, as a nation, can spend our time fixing all the other stuff and we'll have a great looking boat when she goes down, or we can tend to the problem that is most pressing and still have an ark to work with come 2008.
John Kerry was going to spruce up the rest of the boat while hoping some friendly sailors on other boats happened by to help us out with the hole problem Real Soon Now. George W. was in the bilges trying to fix the hole. He's not the best carpenter in the world, hitting his thumb with the hammer and swearing a blue streak, but he's making some progress on it and it looks like he'll prevail. The patch he's building will be ugly -- it's clear he's no craftsman -- but I expect it'll be enough to keep the ark from sinking. It might even buy us enough time to fix some of the other stuff, before we have to hire another inept carpenter. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.
