Category: Religion

I’ve never really talked about why I do this site. I don’t consider myself a writer by any stretch of the imagination, I don’t think that I have a “readership” to cultivate, and I’m not looking to change any minds. The only reason I write this stuff on this site is for me to be able to come back in 1, 3 or 15 years and read what I was thinking about or what was going on at that time in my life. I’m writing to my future self. The fact that it’s on a publicly accessible web site is just so I’ll be able to access it from pretty much anywhere in the world. Occasionally I get all worked up and try to appeal to the outside world, but for the most part themuy is just a dumb journal. If you’re reading this, thanks, but I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to me.

So, with that being said, I’ve got something on my mind today. I want to write down exactly how I feel right now so I can look back on it in the future. I may not feel this way in a few hours, days or years. I may feel this way for the rest of my life.

Yesterday, America went to the polls to elect our next president. Today, all indications are that George W. Bush will continue to be our president for four more years. I personally believe this to be a turning point in American history and that we are heading down a road that will lead to the demise of our country, or at the very least will reduce the United States to a shell of its former self.

It’s easy for someone who is interested in politics to demonize the other side. I try to control myself with respect to that. I recognize that everyone is trying to do what they think is best for their country, just like I am. The fact of the matter is that this country is deeply divided. The events of the last two days have only served to further deepen that divide. The differences between the left and the right are crystal clear at the moment. The lines have not been more clearly drawn. It truly is black and white these days.

For a while there I thought that I was on the side of a tide of change that would help re-build this country and move us toward a better future. I was way wrong. The majority of the people in America are not with me. They are not interested in the common good or their common man. They think the only way to happiness is through money and power and Christianity. They believe that homosexuals are second class citizens and should be beaten down. They believe that Iraq attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. They believe that the health insurance and drug companies will protect them instead of their corporate profits. They see no problem with faith-based initiatives while denouncing the Taliban. They believe you can defeat terror cells of a few dozen people with tanks and airplanes and bombs.

I can’t understand how my beliefs can be so far out of whack with the majority of my country. I find it hard to believe people are such sheep. I cannot fathom how people can foster an atmosphere of intolerance and think they are doing “god’s work.”

What do you say about the atmosphere of a country where people believe one of Bush’s best lines in the debates (of which he lost all three) was when he called Kerry the most liberal Senator.

lib·er·al

• Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
• Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

I feel that the tenants of American democracy are being re-written by the conservative majority of this country. They are weakening the separation of church and state. They are working to weaken the rights of the individual. They are embracing intolerance. They are demonizing the word ‘liberal.’

The despair I feel today is overwhelming. As bad as it’s been the last four years, the next four are going to be unbearable. Bush will elect 4 Supreme Court judges. He will help turn this country into an overbearing monster of bigotry and hate. He will abandon the poor and assist the rich. He will lead us into World War III. He will protect corporate interests at the expense of those who elected him. He will turn every other country against us—he practically already has. He will miserably fail the war on terror. He will believe that God is speaking through him. He will view death as a reward. He will lie to the American people repeatedly and audaciously. He will think he can do no wrong and will not have to answer for his mistakes.

I am not hopeful. I am not optimistic about the future of this country. I don’t even feel that this is my country anymore. I am confused and pissed off. And for all my hatred of George Bush and everything that he stands for, I find it very hard to come to terms with the fact that America has picked him to lead their country.