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Edited on Wed Nov-08-06 10:36 AM by Totally Committed
You would cry too, if it happened to you.
Well, I guess that's really not accurate. It did happen to you, and your joy is palpable this morning. Before I say what it is I have to say, I want to tell you all two things: (1) I am happy that the Democrats are back in some sort of power. One-Party rule does not a democracy make. And, I'm hoping under the Democrats, the Constitution (now on life-support in the basement somewhere...) will make a vibrant come-back. We may even get some of our rights back... it could happen. (2) I am so very proud of the way everyone worked their fingers to the bone for this victory. There is no one here who doesn't deserve a pat on the back. We all put our personal stances aside and held our noses and voted for the "D". I'm hoping that will be something that will change by 2008... that we will have some genuine choices in that race... but.... more about that in a minute. Still, you all dazzled me with your knowlege, your selfless giving, your rock-hard support, and your tireless work. You proved to be a group of democrats (small "d"), as well as Democrats. Coming from me, there is no higher praise.
That having been said, this victory is nothing but bittersweet for me. I grew up with a very definite idea of what a Democrat was. With that came a very definite expectations about what The Democratic Party would come to be.... and very definite things it would always stand for. Over the past months, I've reviewed these expectations and beliefs, and came to wonder if I had just been naive, or if there was a moment when this Party moved (or stopped moving) in one direction, and went on without me.
I also grew up with an almost solemn love for this country. I believed so fervently that one day it would become the country I always thought it would be... everyone would be valued, fulfilled, protected, educated, and respected equally. I believed we would find a way to show the rest of the world how to live in peace and equality. And, I believed I would see this in my lifetime, because the majority of my fellow Americans felt as I did, and wanted all these things as well. It wasn't just the Bush administration who dashed those hopes, but the Americans it empowered to come forward and punish all of us with their sanctimony, their religiosity, their bigotry and hatred, their fear and their intolerance. Where I once saw the possibility of a country and a people that would accept (and, in the best case scenario, even value) everyone who lived here, I've found a country and a people that cannot even tolerate everyone who lives here.... Speak English, or don't speak at all. Pick yourself up by your bootstraps, because there is no government safety-net to help you. Love someone of the opposite sex or don't love at all... and don't even think about marriage and a family. Science comes from Satan. Either you're Christian or you're going to hell.... These, and other beliefs of these or my fellow Americans leave me speechless, disheartened, but, in the end, realistic about the America we have today: This is exactly the America most Americans want.
Okay, you say... then we didn't do too badly, if that's so. I can see the logic, if you look simply at the Party that made all the gains. The Democrats (large "D") won those races. Good for us. High time we won. But, what really, did we win? Think about it for a second. We won a bunch of seats in Governors' Mansions, the House of Representitives, and the Senate. "D"emocrats won those seats, but did "d"emocrats? Not in most cases.
You see, even with the "tidal wave" of this election, ballot initiatives for Gay Marriage and for Stem Cell Research were all defeated in this election. If you are even thinking of trying to live legally with your spouse and are the same sex as he is or she is, you're outta luck. Have you got a disease (or love someone who does) that needs a cure badly... say, Parkinsons or Alzheimers or MS? You're outta luck there, too. Your fellow Americans don't give a sh*t. They'd rather let all those stem cells expire in the deep-freeze than help you out because they have potential for life. Uh-huh. They don't give a rat's a** about your potential for life. It's easier for them to care about something frozen than a real person. That's the America that held yesterday's election. In the privacy of the voting booth, the real America voted yesterday. I have to face that now. We all do.
Oh, just shut up, TC! Can't you just leave us in peace to even enjoy this moment? ---- Sure I can. But, while you're celebrating the wins of all those "centrist" Democrats last night, just remember, "centrist" is Democratic-ese for "conservative". I hope you can pause mid-Mardi Gras to consider what that means. It means we now that we may have more Democrats in our government, but those Democrats are more apt to cross the aisle and vote with the other side more often than you might want to admit... at least more often than they do, even now. There was a lot of consiliatory talk last night about bi-partisanship and "reaching across the aisle", because in giving this group of Democrats their mandate, we also gave their conservative views and values a mandate. This Party became America's Conservative Party last night. So, we now have an Extremist Party, and a Conservative Party as our two-party government. When it became obvious that my old time Lefty values and beliefs were not the things America and this Democratic Party wanted or respected any longer, I rolled up my sleeves and worked as hard as I could for yesterday's victory. I helped give us all a victory that brought with it a Party that it was apparent most Democrats wanted. I did that so that I could retire from politics quietly, and regret what could have been at my own leisure. It's obvious I am now a dinosaur, and my values are not wanted or needed by the Party I worked for all my life. It's sad, but it's reality. I'm a grown-up, so I deal with reality all the time. Imagine the Democratic nominee in 2008, and the hold-your-nose-and-think-of-the-Party bullsh*t I and those like me will have to swallow in order to vote for him/her. I'm through gagging mid-vote, or feeling like I need a shower after I vote, so a quiet retirement looks good to me now. I'm just not sure if the "quiet" part will come in increments (sort of a tapering-off) or all at once. I think I need a few days of rest and reflection before I can decide, but the "retirement" is a sure-thing.
So, congratulations to the Democrats... even the New Democrats. You are the winners. Feel the power.
TC
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