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synapticjava Nov. 3rd, 2004 10:51 pm)
synapticjava Nov. 3rd, 2004 10:51 pm)Okay, so anyone who knows anything at all about me had to have seen this coming.
Alright, I had a lot to say earlier when I was still very upset, but now I've had a chance to cool off and deal. So this probably won't be all that long. With that said, I'm going to dive right in. Ready?
First:
I voted. I voted for the first time, and I voted for the person I thought would be the right person for the position of our leader. I believed then as I do now that he was the correct man and someone who could turn our country around and point it in the right direction. In the early days of the race, I was simply rooting for "the other guy", e.g. voting against Bush. But as it came down to months and weeks and days before the election, I really began to support Kerry's ideas and his morals and his values. I was now voting for someone as opposed to voting against someone. Either way, what it all boils down to is that I voted for someone I strongly supported, and I can feel nothing but absolute pride in that act. Because whether many of my generation realize it or not, this single act of democracy is the most important right we have. Without it, none of our other rights and laws would be in place. We would not be a "free country", something many Americans, in general, take for granted. I can understand and I am deeply touched by the fact my psychology teacher started to cry while he was telling us just how important voting is. I only wish more of us felt the same. I only wish more people my age respected this; maybe then things would be different.
Second:
This morning when I awoke and turned on my television to find this man had won yet again, I felt the earth roll out from under my feet and a tremendous pain in my chest. At first I was infuriated, outraged, and disgusted. Now I am only mildly frightened and emotionally sore. My heart aches because an overwhelming number of states - over one fifth of the union - voted to ban gay marriage. Now my views on gay marriage is something for an entirely different post which if someone wants I can do another time. However, this hurts me tremendously because it only displays to me the anger, the rage, the hatred, and the pure indulgent self-inflicted ignorance we as Americans possess. We as a society immediately hate whatever is different or unknown. We as a society will not accept anything other than what we are used to or what we understand or what our religious morals lead us to. We condemn those that are physically handicapped, mentally challenged, racially diverse, religiously unorthodox, and a host of other such difference. However, in this day and age it has become rather unpolitically correct to discriminate against citizens in these classes. The only outgroup left to turn to is the homosexual community. Irregardless of one's personal accession of our community, we are still people; we are still human, just as the Jews and the Muslims and the Blacks and the Native Americans of our nation are. We are still human and we are still citizens of this great country. However, too many far-right religious ideologists are in tremendous power in this nation. Too many of our elected officials bow to the pressure their religious sects have placed on them. And a country that once was founded upon a complete split between the legal system and religious sanction is beginning to erase that separation. Marriage is a legal term as well as a religious term. We as a community do not seek the approval of the church for our unions, we only seek to be recognized as a legal couple bound in a life-long partnership. Unfortunately, with the word marriage, law and religion are bound and too many people cannot understand this distinction. So under this stipulation I am arguing that by declaring a ban on gay "marriage" you are a)dehumanizing the gay community and b)taking away our rights as humans and citizens of these United States, as well as opposing our federal constitution. These bans will not last, just as the president's amendment will not come to pass. Because we as a people will not allow it to be so.
Third:
Irregardless of the horrendous picture that I predict of the next four years, this election is over. Despite my personal feelings of the winning official, I do believe he won his votes fairly, or at the very least as fairly as any politician ever has. He won the White House the first time on a technicality and human error. He won the second time because a great many Americans either see something I don't, or I see something they don't. However I may feel of that position, I must agree that Bush did win. What's done is done. All we can do is hope and have faith that our nation is strong enough to withstand another term under this ruler. Though this isn't all we can do. It is true that in my opinion, George W Bush has complete and total power - his party controls both the House and the Senate and there is nothing stopping him from redefining our Courts in his favor as well. Nothing is stopping him from doing the horrible things I see happening. Nothing, that is, so long as Americans are apathetic. Despite his actions and his politics, President Bush is not the source of all evil; apathy is. We cannot allow him or any other politician to decide for us what is right and what is wrong. If he or anyone else proposes an article of legislature, policy, or act that we do not agree with, we have a choice. We can stand aside and allow it, or we can fight it using our rights as citizens. And this is what I propose we do. We can only watch him like a hawk, and keep him in check. If he proposes something we do not like, there are options for us: we can protest, we can flood the capitol with letters and emails and phone calls, we can let our voice be heard. Because, my friends, as this election proves - there is strength in numbers. And I personally will not stand idly by and watch this country, this wonderful nation that, despite everything, I am still proud of and still have faith in, fall into the depths of its own self-inflicted destruction. And I challenge every man, woman and child who declares them self an American to do the same. You and I may not agree on something, you may agree with one of our leader's propositions and support it, but I have the choice and the right to oppose it and to fight with everything I have in me. So this is what I shall do, and this is what you should do. Do not stand aside and let anyone tell you how you may live, who you can love and make decisions that will affect the rest of your life without questioning and fighting it every step of the way. Because that, my friend, is what this nation was founded on, and that no one may take away from me or from you.
Hmph. So I guess I had a bit more to say than I thought. *shrugs*
Alright, I had a lot to say earlier when I was still very upset, but now I've had a chance to cool off and deal. So this probably won't be all that long. With that said, I'm going to dive right in. Ready?
First:
I voted. I voted for the first time, and I voted for the person I thought would be the right person for the position of our leader. I believed then as I do now that he was the correct man and someone who could turn our country around and point it in the right direction. In the early days of the race, I was simply rooting for "the other guy", e.g. voting against Bush. But as it came down to months and weeks and days before the election, I really began to support Kerry's ideas and his morals and his values. I was now voting for someone as opposed to voting against someone. Either way, what it all boils down to is that I voted for someone I strongly supported, and I can feel nothing but absolute pride in that act. Because whether many of my generation realize it or not, this single act of democracy is the most important right we have. Without it, none of our other rights and laws would be in place. We would not be a "free country", something many Americans, in general, take for granted. I can understand and I am deeply touched by the fact my psychology teacher started to cry while he was telling us just how important voting is. I only wish more of us felt the same. I only wish more people my age respected this; maybe then things would be different.
Second:
This morning when I awoke and turned on my television to find this man had won yet again, I felt the earth roll out from under my feet and a tremendous pain in my chest. At first I was infuriated, outraged, and disgusted. Now I am only mildly frightened and emotionally sore. My heart aches because an overwhelming number of states - over one fifth of the union - voted to ban gay marriage. Now my views on gay marriage is something for an entirely different post which if someone wants I can do another time. However, this hurts me tremendously because it only displays to me the anger, the rage, the hatred, and the pure indulgent self-inflicted ignorance we as Americans possess. We as a society immediately hate whatever is different or unknown. We as a society will not accept anything other than what we are used to or what we understand or what our religious morals lead us to. We condemn those that are physically handicapped, mentally challenged, racially diverse, religiously unorthodox, and a host of other such difference. However, in this day and age it has become rather unpolitically correct to discriminate against citizens in these classes. The only outgroup left to turn to is the homosexual community. Irregardless of one's personal accession of our community, we are still people; we are still human, just as the Jews and the Muslims and the Blacks and the Native Americans of our nation are. We are still human and we are still citizens of this great country. However, too many far-right religious ideologists are in tremendous power in this nation. Too many of our elected officials bow to the pressure their religious sects have placed on them. And a country that once was founded upon a complete split between the legal system and religious sanction is beginning to erase that separation. Marriage is a legal term as well as a religious term. We as a community do not seek the approval of the church for our unions, we only seek to be recognized as a legal couple bound in a life-long partnership. Unfortunately, with the word marriage, law and religion are bound and too many people cannot understand this distinction. So under this stipulation I am arguing that by declaring a ban on gay "marriage" you are a)dehumanizing the gay community and b)taking away our rights as humans and citizens of these United States, as well as opposing our federal constitution. These bans will not last, just as the president's amendment will not come to pass. Because we as a people will not allow it to be so.
Third:
Irregardless of the horrendous picture that I predict of the next four years, this election is over. Despite my personal feelings of the winning official, I do believe he won his votes fairly, or at the very least as fairly as any politician ever has. He won the White House the first time on a technicality and human error. He won the second time because a great many Americans either see something I don't, or I see something they don't. However I may feel of that position, I must agree that Bush did win. What's done is done. All we can do is hope and have faith that our nation is strong enough to withstand another term under this ruler. Though this isn't all we can do. It is true that in my opinion, George W Bush has complete and total power - his party controls both the House and the Senate and there is nothing stopping him from redefining our Courts in his favor as well. Nothing is stopping him from doing the horrible things I see happening. Nothing, that is, so long as Americans are apathetic. Despite his actions and his politics, President Bush is not the source of all evil; apathy is. We cannot allow him or any other politician to decide for us what is right and what is wrong. If he or anyone else proposes an article of legislature, policy, or act that we do not agree with, we have a choice. We can stand aside and allow it, or we can fight it using our rights as citizens. And this is what I propose we do. We can only watch him like a hawk, and keep him in check. If he proposes something we do not like, there are options for us: we can protest, we can flood the capitol with letters and emails and phone calls, we can let our voice be heard. Because, my friends, as this election proves - there is strength in numbers. And I personally will not stand idly by and watch this country, this wonderful nation that, despite everything, I am still proud of and still have faith in, fall into the depths of its own self-inflicted destruction. And I challenge every man, woman and child who declares them self an American to do the same. You and I may not agree on something, you may agree with one of our leader's propositions and support it, but I have the choice and the right to oppose it and to fight with everything I have in me. So this is what I shall do, and this is what you should do. Do not stand aside and let anyone tell you how you may live, who you can love and make decisions that will affect the rest of your life without questioning and fighting it every step of the way. Because that, my friend, is what this nation was founded on, and that no one may take away from me or from you.
Hmph. So I guess I had a bit more to say than I thought. *shrugs*
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