November 12, 2000

What a week! Nothing happened the way it was supposed to; it didn't even happen the way it wasn't supposed to. America doesn't know who its next president is, and we won't know until maybe next week. I have a feeling that it's going to be George W. Bush (affectionately known as "Dubya," cuz he's such a regular guy) and that my college years might just have some of that political protest/activism that I've been waiting for.

I simply can't believe it, and I can't get it out of my head. For two days I was at this level of intense freak-out, but I've regained control of myself since then. Butterfly ballots, missing ballot boxes, thrown-out votes, disregard for court orders, the electoral college, Ralph Nader, Jeb Bush, protests on the streets of Palm Beach: it's crazy. In a sense it's a blast, too, because it's drenched with politics. The American people have never been so interested in the electoral college process, or their government in general, for that matter.

Yesterday I saw a picture in the paper of Bush supporters and Gore supporters facing off in the streets, screaming at each other and waving their respective signs in the air. The intensity was almost scary, not only because the American people are supposed to be apathetic about this whole thing, but also because they are having this face-off over George W. Bush and Al Gore. No one expects either of these men to be big heroes if they are elected. For the entire campaign, it's been called a choice between the lesser of two evils. Now people are pissed, and the country is split between rotten republicans and dirty democrats. The saddest part of one of the most historic elections in the history of America is the candidates who are involved.

But hey, God bless America, right?

This week has been emotionally frustrating. I live in a Republican community, and this issue has ruled a lot of discussions in classes lately. The main problem with teens and politics is that many times they tend to spout the beliefs of their parents, or they learn about the stereotypic Rep or Dem, and they follow it exactly. So there were a lot of weird republicans trying to attack me this week. I heard arguments for social darwinism, capitalism, a government that only provides defense and a justice system, and, indirectly, against women's rights. I was told that even though I have Cystic Fibrosis, I don't have to be involved with drug or insurance companies. To tell you the truth, I like these frequent lectures. I have a feeling some of the kids would scare Strom Thurman. They do piss me off though, because I hate to hear the heartless garbage pouring from their mouths. Until this year, I thought Social Darwinism had been thrown out at the turn of the last century.

And now Bush wants to stop the hand recount in Florida, but then again he's also calling for recounts in a few states that were really close, like New Mexico, where he lost by a hundred and some odd votes. This will be going on forever, I think.

When I get into this whole scene, I hope something like this happens. That, or we get a really great candidate that I can absolutely love, or an evil sob I can absolutely hate. I'm just looking for political action, is what I'm saying.

I'm sorry, this is quite political. I'm going to have to wrap it up, cuz there is nothing else I have to talk about. Can I add just one more opinion? I totally don't trust anything that happened in Florida. I'm not sure about going as far as having another vote, but the hand count is essential. Bush claims that he wants to hurry up this whole process, but by protesting the hand count, one gets the feeling that he thinks he might lose after all, and by demanding recounts in other states, isn't he slowing down the decision even more? I'm not saying that we must recount until my guy wins; I just want everything to be clear before I accept the evil one as my president (*gag*). Also, every time they recount, they find more votes for Gore. I really hope this whole fiasco isn't common, that we're not only just now discovering it because it was all so close. I've heard that this is hypocritical because of alleged illegal actions in 1960 by Mayor Daley, Sr. If the Republicans had taken the initiative and questioned those results, I wouldn't criticize them; just because they passed up their opportunity (thank god) does not mean that Democrats should do the same this time. Anyway, whatever happens, it'll only be for four years, and then we get to come back and do it all over again. For now, we turn our attention to Congress, and what to do about that damn Republican majority. *smirk*

As for the quote, I'll have a kick-ass one next time. Tonight I have a spoken quote that I find quite amusing. John Stuart Mill once said "Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." (There are times when I feel bad for not being nonpartisan.... this just isn't one of them.) One more: "Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." -George Jean Nathan