Post-Election Atmosphere

Since the Presidential Election, I have noticed an unusual vibe in the air. On the surface, it seems like depression, and to some extent I believe that's true. But I think there's more to it.

Since I had been following the election for many months, and since I was becoming more and more excited at the prospect of an Obama victory, I paid close attention the night of the election. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Louisiana would be a red state - a fact that almost kept me from voting at all. In fact, overall, McCain did get 58.5% to Obama's 40%. But my interest lay in the results parish-by-parish. In one parish McCain received 88% to Obama's 12%. In another, 86%-14%. And so on.

With results like that, in light of the overall outcome, it isn't surprising there would be quite a bit of depression in these parts. That's understandable, but that's not the feeling I'm referring to. I mean the Obama supporters who have nothing to say. I know they're around. I've talked to some of them. But they're not easily spotted. As most of the country celebrates the monumental election, Obama supporters in Louisiana are keeping mum.

I would like to think the reason for that is that Obama supporters have class and see no need to gloat. But I'm afraid that's not the whole story. A couple days ago, a few miles from here, something I'd hoped was extinct once again reared it's ugly head. The Ku Klux Klan murdered a woman, a white woman, who had come from Oklahoma to join in their cause. They held an initiation ceremony in the woods with hoods and robes and burning crosses and the whole nine. After several hours of whoopin' and hollerin' and carryin' on, the woman thought better of her decision and tried to leave the festivities. She was shot dead on the spot. The man who shot her, apparently some KKK bigwig whose name doesn't deserve repeating here, then dug the bullet out of her with his pocket knife in an effort to disconnect himself from the crime. My guess is the act wasn't completely unfamiliar to him. Then they hid her body in the woods. They probably would have gotten away with it if two from the group hadn't shown up at a local convenience store, in blood-stained clothes, and asked the clerk how to remove blood from clothing.

So I guess that atmosphere, that vibe in the air...is fear.

One step forward, two steps back.

Assassination is God's work?

My wife and I are from the Deep South. Last night, we went out to a local bar and grill for a bite and a beer after a long hard week. We had the pleasure of sitting at the bar next to two members of the local brain trust. These guys were discussing the recent election and the resulting upcoming apocalypse. It was very enlightening. I didn't know that the election was pre-ordained 2000 years ago, and that the world-wide jihad is at hand. I didn't know that our support of Israel is our only chance for eternal salvation, and that Obama threatens that. These guys were talking about the bible and stockpiling weapons. What are the odds these two toothless morons have ever even read the bible, rather than simply listening to their preacher's instructions for "proper" living?

Aside: **Don't become angry toward the true believers. Instead pity them their lot in life. Imagine living in a world where every minute of your life, whether waking or asleep, is observed and judged by an insecure, narcissistic, egomaniacal, control freak who doesn't care about your deeds so much as about your adoration for him. Imagine being unable to escape this constant scrutiny even in death, and the punishment for disobedience is eternal pain and suffering with no chance for reprieve, but he loves you. The amount of cognitive dissonance involved in that level of doublethink creates internal discord on the order of total insanity.
When your parents finally told you there is no Santa Claus did you feel a sense of betrayal? Was your trust in your parents shaken at all? Imagine finding out that only your decisions control the direction of your life, and that your decisions have been based on fairy tales. I think on an unconscious level they already know. People will go to amazing and dangerous lengths to protect their denial.**

I have heard whisperings -- someone knows someone who knows someone who said... -- of the certainty that President Obama will not survive his first term in office. I have mixed feelings about statements like that. On the one hand, I think that if some redneck thinks he can take a shot at the President of the United States with a deer rifle, then he deserves to live out his life in Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison. Security is nothing as lax as it was during JFK's time (not that it was a cake-walk then), and I hope they make an example out of one of them and end that kind of talk. On the other hand, if the Secret Service has an off day and Bubba does get his lucky shot, my wife and I can't see any reason to hope this country will ever evolve to a rational, free-thinking society. At that point we'd have to consider other options of places to live in the world.

Post-election Aftermath

There are 2 themes developing from the 2 parties after the election 3 days ago, and neither of them is particularly surprising:

The first is the way McCain's campaign aides are treating former running mate Sarah Palin. I'm no fan of hers, and I certainly did not think she was the best choice as a running mate. McCain's boys are publicly and loudly (yet anonymously?) making her the reason they didn't win. They want to blame her for their defeat so they can salvage McCain's political dignity. Unfortunately their post-election tactics show no dignity, and make their shameful campaign tactics look fair and honorable. It's a disgrace, and McCain's silence speaks volumes. He hasn't denounced his staffers' comments, and he certainly hasn't put a stop to them. These actions mirror McCain's entire political career: He aligns with a party, a running mate, or a wife and uses them to position himself for the next move. Then he screws them over to propel himself to the next level, while touting himself as a maverick. With a record like that, his only hope for keeping the support of the Republican base was to choose a running mate who leans further right than he. I used to respect McCain. Now I feel duped.

The second theme is the way Barack Obama has begun choosing people for his administration. He appears to want to place smart people into important positions, whether or not they agree with all his opinions. That is a refreshing change from the last 8 years when W filled those positions with cronies and yes-men. Also, I think it will be a nice change to have intelligent leadership and vigorous debate over the issues AFTER the election. Has any leader since Lincoln surrounded himself with the best people even if they were in political opposition to his own positions? I like and respect Obama more each day.

Election Night

I haven't actually voted since like 1988 I think. Boo Boo and I were up late last night, studying amendments to the state constitution, reading up on candidates, and preparing ourselves to make educated informed choices today -- which we did. Tonight's the night and I'm excited. Returns are coming in from some eastern states and Obama's ahead in both popular votes and electoral projections.

But I worry that maybe I'm backing the wrong candidate. Maybe I don't understand the negative repercussions of an Obama presidency. Maybe more tax cuts for the rich and less banking regulation will straighten out the economy. Maybe saving a couple dollars on taxes today is worth our great-grandchildren speaking Chinese because China has foreclosed on the $50 Trillion debt we left behind. Maybe we can just drill-baby-drill enough oil in this country to sustain us indefinitely. Maybe fear is better than respect in the world community. Maybe everything will get better if we just pray hard enough. Maybe only people who can afford it deserve healthcare. Maybe blindly following our leaders and cheating on our taxes is the best expression of patriotism.

No. I don't think so.

Pointing out and speaking against the irresponsible, destructive, and divisive actions of George W. Bush is the definition of patriotism. To see that, one only has to look as far as our nation's founding documents. The First Amendment; first for a reason. Freedom of speech is not just a right. It is a duty, and we are derelict if we do not perform it. "We the people..." People first, not country first, Mr. McCain. Country first is nationalism. Government buying companies is socialism. Do we really want national socialism in America? "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." To me, "life" implies health. Healthcare should be free for all. Liberty? Warrantless wire taps, secret courts, secret prisons, torture - these things will be W's legacy. Under W, we pursue happiness the way greyhounds pursue that mechanical rabbit around the dog track. But things change.

For the first time in a long time I actually feel hopeful about the future of our country.

Starting my own

I get so tired of bloggers who say they welcome comments but delete your comments because you have a differing opinion that you can back up with facts. Are their opinions so ingrained that they refuse to change their minds no matter how much evidence supports the change? Are their beliefs so fragile and tenuous that they won't stand up to a little critical analysis? Rather than trying to refute your facts and looking ignorant, they just delete your comment and keep the ones that agree with them. So I'm starting my own.

It has been a trademark of the right, for at least the last 8 years (that's how long I've really been paying attention), to characterize changing one's mind as weakness. If you don't stay the course no matter what develops, or if you base decisions on evidence rather than on doctrine, you are somewhat less of a human being and you deserve contempt and ridicule. We have the Bush-Cheney-Rove political machine to thank for the divided atmosphere in which we now live, for the you're-either-with-us-or-against-us mentality, and John McCain is continuing that tradition.
I would like to make it clear that I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. There are ideas from each side with which I agree, and ideas with which I do not. But in this election season, Barack Obama has consistently taken the high road. He talks about hope and inclusion and helping people. He talks about issues while his opponents attack character. But I'm not naive. Obama's a politician, which means he lies.
John McCain, on the other hand, has taken every opportunity to insinuate wrongdoing and suggest dangerous affiliations of Obama's while offering nothing in the way of proof. He suggests that Obama is hiding some record of his affiliations. If one cannot produce something that does not exist, does that mean he's hiding it? Meanwhile, McCain is first in line to block certain records from the Vietnam War from being released. It has been suggested that those records include the propaganda films he was forced to make by the North Vietnamese during his time as a POW. It has also been suggested by other Vietnam veterans that McCain was not tortured and that he was a willing participant in whatever his captors asked of him. I don't know, and without those records I take those suggestions with a grain of salt. Furthermore, whether he served willingly or not, he served; and for that he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

So I made my decision based on what records I can find and on what I've seen. The records I can find include, among others, the Keating Five scandal in which Senator McCain and Senator John Glenn narrowly escaped jail time (I believe because of their hero status), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, which removed banking regulations that were implemented in the 1930s to prevent another Great Depression from happening. Even today, with an economic depression imminent, McCain still calls for more deregulation of the banking system. I see a man who swept into D. C. to fix the banking and lending crisis, vowing to stay until a resolution had been reached, and who then left before any resolution but not before clouding the proceedings with presidential election politics. I see a man with no real economic policy. I see a man, whose family was openly and viciously attacked by the Bush 2000 campaign, smiling and shaking hands with Bush soon after. I see a man who used to be a maverick but who has now aligned himself with the true conservatives in order to win. I see a man who changes whenever necessary in order to win.
I see a man whose first executive decision was to choose his running mate based on her ultra-conservative views in an effort to shore up the Republican base, and based on her sex in an effort to compete with Obama's history-making candidacy. He must have chosen Palin for political reasons, because she is so obviously unqualified (except that she can see Russia from her house) and out of her depth on the world stage. I was no fan of Hillary Clinton's campaign, but I at least consider her to be qualified for the office. Palin's lack of understanding of some of the basics like the First Amendment, as well as her affiliation with an Alaskan secessionist party, make the possibility of her assuming the highest office in the land extremely frightening.
-- Mr. Putin, shootin' (oh I made a little rhyme there dontcha know *wink*) ... shootin' missiles at us would just be wrong, you betcha!