We won. But I basically have to shut up everywhere I go, even on the AMRN, which, you know, I own.
It feels like all the bloggers I read are shocked and horrified at the outcome of this election. (Many haven’t posted about it yet, or are avoiding doing so, but their silence, added to previous commentary, makes their opinion obvious.)
Over at BoingBoing, the so-called Directory of Wonderful Things, hateful, anti-Republican rants run rampant–see “Dumbass Republicans” and “Republicans are fucking stupid” (paraphrase).
It was all these people that made me believe Kerry had a good chance of winning, that the election was going to be a lot closer than it was.
There aren’t a lot of interesting blogs written by people who make decisions the same way I do. Den Beste pretty much shut his down in favor of an anime fansite. (He was hoping to avoid all the snarking that went on in his email. But as Sean said, he has no idea what kind of hell he has just entered into. Anime fandom should not be underestimated…)
Meanwhile, I’ve never really found another good blog that explored world events through a more conservative eye, while still being thoughtful and interesting. A lot of what I’ve seen is spiteful and reactionary. (This is partially why I keep telling AJ he should have a blog.)
I’m glad I voted for Bush. I think he was the best candidate available at the time. I wish there had been someone better, but there wasn’t. Kerry would not have focused on the things that I believe need to be focused on at this time.
I just feel like I’m a minority here on the Internet, and I’m wondering why that is.
I don’t see either of the two parties as having all the answers. I will tend to go with the Republicans in general because I feel that they are more balanced, but on social issues I am almost completely with the Democrats. Social change needs to occur. Eleven states, including my own, banning gay marriage? First of all, this is a ridiculous thing to even be thinking about when we’re at war. What is the point of having this vote now? Secondly, what right should the government have to dictate what kinds of primarily religious, social bonds we can form with each other? Someone on the bruno boards once said that marriage itself should be abolished in the eyes of the state, and that civil unions should be open to anyone–including a parent and child who live together, for example–so that those who have a true connection and who form real “households” could enjoy the same tax breaks as married people do now. This would have the effect of cutting down on marriages of convenience. Meanwhile, people who wanted to could have their religion of choice “marry” them, and they would apply for a civil union in order to reap the tax benefits. I think this idea has some merit to it.
Obviously, then, my beliefs concerning social issues contrast dramatically with those of your typical Republican. However, I don’t go completely over to the Democrat side here. For one thing, I will never agree that abortion is right. I don’t understand why other agnostics and atheists don’t agree. If they truly believe, or are willing to consider, the idea that this life is all there is, then why do they feel that it’s okay to take that life away from someone, without asking their opinion first? Why is convenience for those who have lived a little valued over the chance to live at all for an unborn child?
I also don’t know if affirmative action works at all. I feel that, especially here in Georgia, the real racism is not going to be curbed until education is improved and more people have access to true dialogue on the subject.
And so, obviously, you see that I feel that education is important. I have my own opinions on our educational system, why it is failing and what we should do to fix it, which as far as I know are not reflected in either party’s agenda.
What I’m saying here is, there are things that Bush believes in to his core that I would prefer to have nothing to do with. But that doesn’t automatically make Kerry a better choice. The “anyone but Bush” camp is horribly shortsighted, in my view.
I still feel that Bush is the best option we had available to guide us through these troubling times. Now I will just have to sit back, keep my mouth shut on my various blogs and forums, and wait for the outrage to die back down to a simmer.