Thursday, November 04, 2004
Post election ruminations in a Judeo-Christian Land
Slouching towards fundamentalism.
The message from voters could not be more clear. The majority did not give a hoot about real issues. They elected a hollow man to lead the nation for another four years. They remained blissfully oblivious of his lies and embraced him for his religious position. How could John Kerry, a Catholic, compete against that, especially when Catholic priests were exhorting their parishioners not to vote for any candidate who supports women's right to choose? And then there was fear of terrorism in the home land. Again, it was George Bush and his talk about god and America that resonated.
In my October 30th post I wrote that Bush would win on electoal college votes. He was ahead on popular votes too. Although I expected a Bush victory, in the back of my mind there was a glimmer of hope that it would not be so. Late afternoon reports based on exit polls indicated that Kerry was in the lead in most of the states. I, like many others, felt optimistic. That feeling was soon overshadowed as my copy of the electoral map began to be dominated by the color red. Thought of the Sikh leader Ranjit Singh's comments when he looked at a map of the world during the hey-day of Rule Britannia: "Saab laal ho jayega"---All would become red.
What do we do now ? Read about people who are talking about moving to Canada. I always thought highly of Canadians and today Canada looks even more attractive. But for most of us that is not a viable option. I am glad that I live in California, not in one of those "red" states. We are not going to roll over. The extremists are going to overplay their hand and there would be a backlash. Perhaps not in 2008 but it will happen. As people in progressive, vibrant societies move forward, Americans will wake up and question the direction taken by their regressive leaders.
In the meantime, the glass of red wine in the evening still tastes good. There are trails to run and hike on; books, films, music, and good food to enjoy. I am not going to let the hypocrite in the White House and his supporters influence my mood.
It was in Calcutta in the 1960's that I heard Pete Seeger sing "We shall overcome".
A good song. Yes,we shall overcome.
The message from voters could not be more clear. The majority did not give a hoot about real issues. They elected a hollow man to lead the nation for another four years. They remained blissfully oblivious of his lies and embraced him for his religious position. How could John Kerry, a Catholic, compete against that, especially when Catholic priests were exhorting their parishioners not to vote for any candidate who supports women's right to choose? And then there was fear of terrorism in the home land. Again, it was George Bush and his talk about god and America that resonated.
In my October 30th post I wrote that Bush would win on electoal college votes. He was ahead on popular votes too. Although I expected a Bush victory, in the back of my mind there was a glimmer of hope that it would not be so. Late afternoon reports based on exit polls indicated that Kerry was in the lead in most of the states. I, like many others, felt optimistic. That feeling was soon overshadowed as my copy of the electoral map began to be dominated by the color red. Thought of the Sikh leader Ranjit Singh's comments when he looked at a map of the world during the hey-day of Rule Britannia: "Saab laal ho jayega"---All would become red.
What do we do now ? Read about people who are talking about moving to Canada. I always thought highly of Canadians and today Canada looks even more attractive. But for most of us that is not a viable option. I am glad that I live in California, not in one of those "red" states. We are not going to roll over. The extremists are going to overplay their hand and there would be a backlash. Perhaps not in 2008 but it will happen. As people in progressive, vibrant societies move forward, Americans will wake up and question the direction taken by their regressive leaders.
In the meantime, the glass of red wine in the evening still tastes good. There are trails to run and hike on; books, films, music, and good food to enjoy. I am not going to let the hypocrite in the White House and his supporters influence my mood.
It was in Calcutta in the 1960's that I heard Pete Seeger sing "We shall overcome".
A good song. Yes,we shall overcome.
