Now What Will I Fret Over?
Okay, so I will try after this to write only posts about frivolous things, like reality TV and cats in windows, but for today, I have to write about how relieved I am by the results of the election.
Obama won, thank you, America. Not "thank God," because no God had anything to do with it, but thank you to the people who voted for him and campaigned for him and did more than just wear a button (that was the extent of my contribution to his campaign) and those who weren't swayed by the grossly inaccurate rhetoric of the right these last several months.
What irks me is that he didn't just squeak by as all the pundits were predicting, but he won by a significant margin in the electoral colleges, and won the popular vote. I think of all the anxiety I experienced listening to these doomsday claims that it would be too close to call; we'd need a recount; surprise Zombie Republicans would rise out of their family mausoleums and take over the polls...But the spin doesn't end. Now, there's a new revisionist history of what was expected, as some Romney supporters are saying things like how they knew it was a long shot--and yet despite this, they went ahead and spent millions of dollars campaigning anyway, just because Jesus told them to. In his concession speech, Romney pretended to be supportive of the president and said that we should all pray for him. and in that comment lies the crux of why we're lucky he didn't get elected----in part, b/c I don't think voters completely forgot that he was Mormon, and I believe that most rational-minded people want the separation of church and state; and for me, this is especially true in the cases of women's rights----don't tell me that I should listen to your thoughts on my body based on text either written just a few hundred years ago (Book of Mormon) or thousands of years ago (Bible) by men. I'm wondering how those who prayed for Romney to get elected rationalize his loss? They didn't pray hard enough? God has a bigger plan for them that they may or may not understand in their lifetime? I have this sense that lots of Southerners (b/c almost all of the Bible States went red), woke up to feel that Armageddon lurks around the corner--Colorado legalized marijuana and Maine and Maryland legalized gay marriage-- what next?? Oh, next children of illegal immigrants might want access to a college education!! One of the things I heard on NPR yesterday was the changing make up of the population in terms of race; how in another couple of decades, the diversity population will increase and whites will make up less of the population. Good, yes, let's go.
I feel like I can relax a little now--that we can move forward with healthcare everyone but most especially for the disenfranchised (those whom R. advised to go ahead and wait in the ER if they needed medical assistance), that we can let the rich pay their fair share of taxes, that we can hope Obama continues to make strides toward greener initiatives (something Romney criticized him for--despite the overwhelming evidence that global warming is a problem, as is our dependence on oil), that we can get American soldiers home AND get them the access to resources they need to succeed, that we don't have to worry so much about fracking and other initiatives R. supported that destroy the environment and keep us dependent on limited natural resources, or worry about cutting funding for Big Bird and social programs that give struggling people a chance to succeed, that we can keep moving forward, onward, upward with President Obama.
Obama won, thank you, America. Not "thank God," because no God had anything to do with it, but thank you to the people who voted for him and campaigned for him and did more than just wear a button (that was the extent of my contribution to his campaign) and those who weren't swayed by the grossly inaccurate rhetoric of the right these last several months.
What irks me is that he didn't just squeak by as all the pundits were predicting, but he won by a significant margin in the electoral colleges, and won the popular vote. I think of all the anxiety I experienced listening to these doomsday claims that it would be too close to call; we'd need a recount; surprise Zombie Republicans would rise out of their family mausoleums and take over the polls...But the spin doesn't end. Now, there's a new revisionist history of what was expected, as some Romney supporters are saying things like how they knew it was a long shot--and yet despite this, they went ahead and spent millions of dollars campaigning anyway, just because Jesus told them to. In his concession speech, Romney pretended to be supportive of the president and said that we should all pray for him. and in that comment lies the crux of why we're lucky he didn't get elected----in part, b/c I don't think voters completely forgot that he was Mormon, and I believe that most rational-minded people want the separation of church and state; and for me, this is especially true in the cases of women's rights----don't tell me that I should listen to your thoughts on my body based on text either written just a few hundred years ago (Book of Mormon) or thousands of years ago (Bible) by men. I'm wondering how those who prayed for Romney to get elected rationalize his loss? They didn't pray hard enough? God has a bigger plan for them that they may or may not understand in their lifetime? I have this sense that lots of Southerners (b/c almost all of the Bible States went red), woke up to feel that Armageddon lurks around the corner--Colorado legalized marijuana and Maine and Maryland legalized gay marriage-- what next?? Oh, next children of illegal immigrants might want access to a college education!! One of the things I heard on NPR yesterday was the changing make up of the population in terms of race; how in another couple of decades, the diversity population will increase and whites will make up less of the population. Good, yes, let's go.
I feel like I can relax a little now--that we can move forward with healthcare everyone but most especially for the disenfranchised (those whom R. advised to go ahead and wait in the ER if they needed medical assistance), that we can let the rich pay their fair share of taxes, that we can hope Obama continues to make strides toward greener initiatives (something Romney criticized him for--despite the overwhelming evidence that global warming is a problem, as is our dependence on oil), that we can get American soldiers home AND get them the access to resources they need to succeed, that we don't have to worry so much about fracking and other initiatives R. supported that destroy the environment and keep us dependent on limited natural resources, or worry about cutting funding for Big Bird and social programs that give struggling people a chance to succeed, that we can keep moving forward, onward, upward with President Obama.
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| I took this picture for Dan yesterday. |
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