I am not merely disappointed with the results of last night’s election. For me it is not a little setback, a matter of just sucking it up and enduring for another four years.
I am devastated. Gutted.
I feel hollow. I feel the very same way I did on 9/11 when I began to understand the scope of all the attacks and schemes—that our nation's security and integrity is threatened, that everything that I know is going to change, and that we may not survive as a nation intact. I feel the awful uncertainty of what comes next.
As Abraham Lincoln said in 1858, a house divided against itself cannot stand. And we are a house divided: half the nation rejoiced last night, with the lightest of hearts and a feeling of hope; another roughly half of the nation mourned, feeling a gut-wrenching, sick fear. Through this entire election there has not been a single moment of unity. Liberal and conservative opinions are so dichotomous that neither side can see a single quality, skill, or plan that redeems the other candidate. There was no feeling of compromise, no effort of coming together to find something/someone that could benefit and prosper every American citizen “Ha, ha, conservative idiots, we beat you”—that was the sentiment I saw all over Twitter last night.
Someone I love and care for deeply posted this on Twitter on Sunday: “Shocked to run across someone I know, that I consider to be an intelligent and reasonable person, and find that they’re in favor of Romney.” That hurt. Liberals truly believe that theirs is the only intelligent, reasonable position? That conservatives believe what we believe out of ignorance, lack of serious thought, and despite all evidence to the contrary?
My non-US-citizen friends and acquaintances posted praise or congratulations to voters on making the right choice. I was *thisclose* to throwing up when Obama won Iowa, that’s how the “right choice” feels to me.
So if you have read through this and haven’t just skimmed or clicked away, I salute you. Thanks for reading. And I wrote this out for a very specific purpose: Please, please tell me what you see in him, why after these four years you wanted him to have four more at the helm of our nation. What has gone right? What positive direction have we gone? What is your hot-button issue, the one that convinces you he’s the right guy for the job? What do you consider his greatest success? (Have there been any failures? Do you think he’ll rectify them in his next term?)
Give me some hope.
Note: comments are moderated. This is my blog, and I can run it any way I want. I will not tolerate a single ad hominem attack, on me or anyone else. Those comments will be deleted instantly. Any thoughtful response, however, will be posted and, I hope, will lead to much discussion. I have spent so much time this election trying to see, trying to understand the liberal position. I am still trying, and I ask your help.
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9 comments:
As a non-US citizen friend who read through your entire post and who posted congratulations, I'll try to give my view.
First off, I consider myself a liberal in the European meaning (lib dems are central right in Europe, not left), liberal as in personal freedom, the less government intervention, the better. It's not the government's business what two consulting adults do in the bedroom, if I'm suffering from an incurable disease and am in great pain, why should the government stop me from ending my life if I so wish. So I'm glad gay marriage is legal here, am glad euthanasia (consent being the key word) is legal here, I'm glad people can believe whatever they want. I feel we pay too much taxes though and our government is too big and complicated. I do understand that for some things, a government is necessary. Some things are better left to themselves, to the markets, other things are better managed by the government (profit is not always the best motivator).
That would make a republican on economical issues and a democrat on social issues, so I guess if I was an American, I'd be a swing voter. I liked McCain 4 years ago, but the historical importance of having Obama as president would have made me vote for Obama, had I been allowed to vote.
To the rest of the world, the fact that a black man can become president, it is huuuuge! You should be proud that you live in a country where that is possible. In most countries in the world, it would never happen. It's a true sign that the US really is the country of opportunities, it's such a hopeful, meaningful sign and it really improved the image of the US immensely. You may not care what the rest of the world thinks, but it is important in the end. Businesses will prefer to invest in countries that are open, show positive attitudes.
Obama is far from perfect, I think he would have lost had he faced a more moderate opponent. Because I hate to say it, but Romney really scared me. He represents the millionaires who started this whole economical crisis in the first place. It's not the people on wellfare who're to blame for the crisis, it's the banks, it's the financial sector and they haven't really been punished for it. Romney seems like the typical millionaire who thinks anyone can be a millionaire and that the only reason people are poor is because they're not working hard enough. I'm not a millionaire, but I do work hard. You're not a millionaire but it's not because you and Blaine aren't working hard enough.
The right says there are too many freeloaders, too many people abusing the system, abusing welfare. The left says there are a lot of poor people out there who simply had back luck and need help and that helping the poor, helps the rich as well. It's better for everyone when there are fewer poor people. The thing is, both sides are right. There are freeloaders and there are people who're just unlucky. The truth is in the middle. Just like there are rich people who got there through unfair means or thanks to daddy while others got there by working hard, taking risks. There are freeloaders on both sides, there are fair people on both sides.
And that's why in a normal country, in a normal democracy, you constantly see a switch in politics, a couple of years of republican rule, a couple of years of democratic rule. It's the same in the UK, you have conservatives ruling, then it's labour, it switches all the time. You worry about your country being divided, but as long as there's no monopoly of one party for decades, you know you're living in a democracy. Our newspapers mentioned the divide as well. I hope Obama does manage to bridge it, a little bit.
part 2:
You ask what hope there is. I wish Europeans leader would express hope the way Obama has in his speech.
You ask about his greatest accomplishment. I think Obamacare is pretty impressive though you'll probably disagree. It doesn't deal with the real problem though, that healthcare is still in the hands of companies whose main goal is making a profit. That's fine if you're making computers, selling cars, but not when you're dealing with peoples' lives.
You worry about gas prices, but that's not Obama's fault. Romney wouldn't have been able to keep them low either. And gas prices shouldn't be low!
The fact is, these are different times. The world population has grown immensely. The Chinese economy has grown immensely. There's a higher demand, so the prices go up. The supply isn't endless. Cheap gas prices jeopardise the future. It's a bit similar to certain handouts people here have been used to, dating back to a time when there was money to spare, when there wasn't a greying population. I get angry at people here whining they want to retire at 55. That might have been possible when all the baby boomers were at work, but now that they're all retiring, it's simply impossible. We've been spoiled in the past and it's hard to get rid of old habits, it's hard to take away privileges that people have grown used to. We just have to accept that because of changes in the world that are not to blame on our politicians, we have to change our habits, we might have to work harder/longer than our parents, have to be more economical, live smaller than our parents did. We may not like it, but it's just something we have to accept.
I'm not sure this answers your questions. I just thought I'd give my view.
It helps to hear your POV, Tine, it's exactly what I was asking for. I do disagree about gasoline costs—we have many sources of oil available domestically that, if tapped, would cut down our gasoline cost, but this administration has put in place "green" regulations that don't allow us to tap those reserves, and keep us at the mercy price-wise of whatever external source is supplying us. I think we should be as energy-independent as we can be.
I agree with your last paragraph so much.
I also meant to respond to the first part of your first response, about the social issues—I wondered if the social issues were the reason this election was won by Obama, and I am anxious to have others weigh in. On the social issues, I am much more understanding and sympathetic. For me it boiled down to economy and interpretation of the constitution (e.g. big vs. small government, how many of my liberties should be legislated away) and I am very interested to know if the social issues trump the economic and administrative issues for most O supporters.
In the end, we all want and hope for the same. Deep down, the goals of republicans, democrats, etc are the same. We all want a country that prospers, we all want peace, comfort. We merely differ in how we think we can achieve that goal.
I was interesting to read Tine's point of view. I too felt sick and dejected Tuesday night. I also think the social issues must have been the bigger issue for many people.
I think it's economical issues too. Bush created an enormous deficit, with the tax cuts for the rich and Iraq war. Obama hasn't done enough to change that. Here's hoping that now the he no longer needs to worry about getting re elected, he dares to go back on that. There was the whole occupy wall street movement. I think to many Romney represents that 1%. And then of course, there's that infamous 47% comment made by Romney. You could argue that a lot of the anti-women, rape comments made by republicans didn't represent republicans, but in this case, it was Romney himself who made the comment. That's a dividing comment, if there ever was one.
Romney is definitely a one-percenter. He might even be a .5- or a .25-percenter.
The thing about that 47% comment—it is true. It was taken very badly, but because of Bush tax cuts, there are, literally, probably 47% of people in this country that pay no income tax. We all pay medicare and social security taxes, no one can get out of those; but if you have enough children and even a decent middle-class income, you pay no income tax. I am in that 47%, and I bet many, many of the democrats who were !outraged! by that comment are, too.
Obama has not dialed back the deficit in any way, he has added to it at the identical pace that Bush did. Deficit spending is the thing I'm most interested to watch now, because many conservative pundits strongly believe that now there is no hope of reelection, he's going to spend MORE. We shall see how it really goes, I would love for him to control it and rein it in.
Social issues certainly separate the two parties, but the emphasis on this go-round was both fabricated and misinformed, a winning combination in an election that should have focused on the economy and foreign policy. I am most disappointed in my fellow Americans who feel that Governor Romney, in any way, had the intent or power to overturn Roe v. Wade; the votes of those who have no working knowledge of the legal, legislative or executive functions of the Constitution and the government who puts it in play. I'm doubly disgusted by the media who lobbed this non-issue to the fore with their pandering 'Women in America'-type programming, who asked the questions in interviews and debates, who needlessly exploited women and our victimization at the hands of 'The Man." My gender doesn't place me in a protected class - I'm educated and able to sort the crap from the substance, and very much resent the economic future of this country being decided by the willfully uninformed populace. The liberal media in general, and the liberal politicians in particular thrive on the idea that there is a segment of the population who could not possibly tie their own shoelaces without their intervention. They perpetuate an underclass mindset, regardless of their pronouncements of level playing fields and assistance. The irony of the 47% backlash is that percentages notwithstanding, the Democrats thrive on that victimization mindset. They wouldn't have a role to play without it. And we as a populace don't blink in offering it up.
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