Fight on.
This is my five minute rant I just scrawled on the barsuk message board to all the disheartened young people there.
Here are my final thoughts.
Kerry's concession, heartbreaking but as ever from him full of integrity. Despite the stakes in Ohio, I believe he feels the showout in the popular vote means that he must renege in terms of starting to help heal the divisions on this country.
Everything was not in vain. Yesterday I had a democratic experience that was entirely futile but at least made me appreciate the process. I was volunteering at a phone bank and got a senior citizen who was isolated and housebound having just had a stroke in Nevada. He wanted to vote for Kerry, but didn't ask for an absentee ballot in time because he didn't know he was going to have a stroke. He'd made calls to get a ride to the polls, knowing that he'd need to be supervised because of his poor health, and no one ever called him back.
I got on the phone and called the Nevada headquarters demanded someone go get him and last night at 9pm spoke to him and he had made it to the polls and voted and he wanted to graciously thank young people for standing up for people like him.
I am furious at myself. That anger I'll reserve because I could've done more of that, and all of us could. For the greater world I will feel saddended. But I'm not going to give up.
This president has shown criminal levels of negligence. It's time to set aside the election and focus on pressure to all our members of congress and Senators to hold accountable all the lies that have come out of this administration. That is part of our wacky process, and it must proceed. We can't give up on that. We can do something.
More than that and more importantly, I believe the general populace of the USA who are truly earnestly saddened need to mobilize and do something non violent, demonstrative. Not to ourselves, we can concede defeat and admit a majority of voters wanted this president - but we need to show the entire rest of the world that they cannot judge our character dependent on this neoconservative administration.
I don't even know what that entails. I'm sitting here at my computer, packing up, having been depressed all day, but I'm quietly gathering myself back together again. This is one of the most crucial defeats I've ever felt in my life, and it's such a low blow that I know that it can only make me stronger.
For the first time in my life over the past six months I have called my represenatitives, I have volunteered time to a presidential candidate... And I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep doing this for the rest of my life.
Our generation supposedly had nothing to show to feel or care about. We do now. It's our responsibility to do something with that still. If there's something we can do in John Kerry's honor it's to see that at the age of 27 he helped mobilize a peaceful and rational force that made the public aware that the war in Vietnam was wrong. It did help end the war.
He lost, so we need to take up that mantle again. We need to unify with one clear goal. That is declaring that we have lost the policy battle over votes, but we will not give an inch until they cannot afford this needless war.
Nick in Death Cab spoke of flags, of not having one. I think we should bring back what the Vietnam Veterans Against the War used - an upside down flag. Initially Kerry didn't want to use this - thinking it was disrespectful. It turns out to be a Naval code signal for distress. From the topmast the flag is turned upside down, to indicate help is needed.
We need to reclaim the American flag. Because the exit polls showed that it wasn't the economy, social issues, or the war, or even security that decided this election. It was this concept of "morality". That's a larger ideological fight against ignorance to be waged another day. The rest of American who did vote for Bush know in their heart of hearts that the war in Iraq is pointless and we do not feel safer. Now we have to hold those people accountable.
In the meantime, I am going to start plans for a the 10 million slacker march on Washington, to show the rest of the world there's still a lot of us who are proud Americans who do not agree with the direction this country is headed in.
Fight on.
Here are my final thoughts.
Kerry's concession, heartbreaking but as ever from him full of integrity. Despite the stakes in Ohio, I believe he feels the showout in the popular vote means that he must renege in terms of starting to help heal the divisions on this country.
Everything was not in vain. Yesterday I had a democratic experience that was entirely futile but at least made me appreciate the process. I was volunteering at a phone bank and got a senior citizen who was isolated and housebound having just had a stroke in Nevada. He wanted to vote for Kerry, but didn't ask for an absentee ballot in time because he didn't know he was going to have a stroke. He'd made calls to get a ride to the polls, knowing that he'd need to be supervised because of his poor health, and no one ever called him back.
I got on the phone and called the Nevada headquarters demanded someone go get him and last night at 9pm spoke to him and he had made it to the polls and voted and he wanted to graciously thank young people for standing up for people like him.
I am furious at myself. That anger I'll reserve because I could've done more of that, and all of us could. For the greater world I will feel saddended. But I'm not going to give up.
This president has shown criminal levels of negligence. It's time to set aside the election and focus on pressure to all our members of congress and Senators to hold accountable all the lies that have come out of this administration. That is part of our wacky process, and it must proceed. We can't give up on that. We can do something.
More than that and more importantly, I believe the general populace of the USA who are truly earnestly saddened need to mobilize and do something non violent, demonstrative. Not to ourselves, we can concede defeat and admit a majority of voters wanted this president - but we need to show the entire rest of the world that they cannot judge our character dependent on this neoconservative administration.
I don't even know what that entails. I'm sitting here at my computer, packing up, having been depressed all day, but I'm quietly gathering myself back together again. This is one of the most crucial defeats I've ever felt in my life, and it's such a low blow that I know that it can only make me stronger.
For the first time in my life over the past six months I have called my represenatitives, I have volunteered time to a presidential candidate... And I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep doing this for the rest of my life.
Our generation supposedly had nothing to show to feel or care about. We do now. It's our responsibility to do something with that still. If there's something we can do in John Kerry's honor it's to see that at the age of 27 he helped mobilize a peaceful and rational force that made the public aware that the war in Vietnam was wrong. It did help end the war.
He lost, so we need to take up that mantle again. We need to unify with one clear goal. That is declaring that we have lost the policy battle over votes, but we will not give an inch until they cannot afford this needless war.
Nick in Death Cab spoke of flags, of not having one. I think we should bring back what the Vietnam Veterans Against the War used - an upside down flag. Initially Kerry didn't want to use this - thinking it was disrespectful. It turns out to be a Naval code signal for distress. From the topmast the flag is turned upside down, to indicate help is needed.
We need to reclaim the American flag. Because the exit polls showed that it wasn't the economy, social issues, or the war, or even security that decided this election. It was this concept of "morality". That's a larger ideological fight against ignorance to be waged another day. The rest of American who did vote for Bush know in their heart of hearts that the war in Iraq is pointless and we do not feel safer. Now we have to hold those people accountable.
In the meantime, I am going to start plans for a the 10 million slacker march on Washington, to show the rest of the world there's still a lot of us who are proud Americans who do not agree with the direction this country is headed in.
Fight on.
1 Comments:
First of all, as a Kerry supporter, I just want to say thanks for the effort you put into the election. Even if it makes me feel a little shitty that I didnt do more than I might have been able to. Just donated money and voted. But yeah, we need to keep fighting the good fight. Many people Ive spoken to are down and depressed, and for good reason. BUT, just because practically everything is run by Republicans does not mean we should give up. We're not some little underground group of people who should be ashamed. The margin of votes was slim. 3.5 million votes is not a lot. The country is not full of only right wing republicans. They only got a slightly larger number of voters out on election day. Sure it's discouraging, but we're not alone.
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