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10:03 a.m. - 2004-11-03
My Morning-After Rant
I really was planning to give politics a rest today. The election is over, for better or worse, and now we just have to live with the results. But I can't. I can't give it a rest. I can't think about anything else or talk about anything else when I'm confronted with this much hypocrisy.

Last night, the senator-elect from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, said a number of VERY disturbing things. He said he would not be "ashamed" of his faith. He said that he wants to continue practicing medicine, but it's not about practicing medicine, it's about keeping his fingers on the pulse of the public. Excuse me, what??? If you are a physician charged with keeping your patients healthy, you damn well better be focusing on their health and not your political agenda, AssMunch.

But wait, there's more! The ballot measures defining marriage as one man and one woman passed in all states voting on them. You may say, but Loopy. The country seems to be voting Republican, and this is not hypocritical when you consider their agenda. Well, no. But their whole AGENDA is hypocritical. Most of them are professing faith in Christianity. However, their political stances do not agree with some of the most important tenets thereof: (1) do unto others; (2) turn the other cheek; (3) let he who is without sin cast the first stone; (4) as you do unto the poorest of my followers, you do unto me�.you get the idea. They claim to be in favor of stable families and traditional values. These same folks, though, think that it's perfectly okay to gamble. Oklahoma voted in a lottery, and they voted to allow slot machines at horse-racing tracks. Those things are not morally wrong, you see. It's perfectly okay to be in a casino, get drunk, and spend all your money. It's just not okay for your neighbors, who have been in a relationship for 10 years, to have the same rights as you and your fifth wife.

I know this is a free country, and everyone is entitled to their opinion�.and obviously, some people believe that the Republicans can protect them from the big bad terrorists and the frightening possibility that someone besides white men can be in charge. I know that people have a variety of reasons for their political beliefs, and I respect that. However, I don't have to like that the president who is very likely going to be in office is going to appoint Supreme Court justices who will eliminate my right to choose what happens in my body. I don't have to like that we're going to be in Iraq for the foreseeable future. I don't have to like that I live in a state which is intolerant of people who aren't just like them. I don't have to like that the economy will probably continue to decline, thus making it very difficult for me to find a better-paying job in a different industry.

Really, though, the main reason I'm so pissed about this election is that everyone is voting based on FEAR. Fear of what might happen if we change leadership in the middle of a war. Fear of possible terrorist attacks. Fear of what will happen if we allow everyone to have the same civil rights. Fear of anything and everything. The current administration has managed to convince everyone that they are not safe and they will not and cannot be safe if their civil rights are not limited and we do not fight the so-called "war on terror." Does anyone realize that what they are doing is fighting a war WITH terror in their own country? That the Republicans are not logical, not rational, and not interested in anything other than securing oil supplies and world dominance?

Reading news articles this morning was revealing. It said that basically, most people under 30 support Kerry. No, it's not because we're too young to know any better. It's because it's our generation fighting this so-called war. It's our generation that doesn't have health insurance. It's our generation who will end up paying for the failure of Social Security and the budget deficits run up by the current administration. And it is we who will have to lead the country 20 years from now, after all of the damage that has been done to the reputation of the United States.

ChaosTraffic made an interesting point this morning. He said that Republicans basically believe in making decisions for the long term and Democrats believe in instant gratification. I disagree. What was Iraq, if not instant gratification? What was Afghanistan? What is running up a huge budget deficit and cutting taxes for rich people? What do you call that? Those things will NOT benefit us in the long term. Even if we do manage to "bring freedom and democracy to Iraq", it will likely be at the price of our own country's civil rights, financial health, and all the other things that once made this country great.

All I can hope is that somehow, some way, Kerry manages to win Ohio.

 

 

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