After the Fall

These last few months I have dedicated my column to exposing the hypocrisies of President George W. Bush. While many conservative coalitions are calling the re-election of Bush a mandate for the policies of his presidency, I must beg to differ.

Much is going to be made of the fact that this time Bush won the popular vote and received more votes than any sitting president in U.S. history. The reverse is true, however, as Bush also received more votes against him than any sitting president in U.S. history.

Unity has been the word of the hour as Bush claims he wants to “bring America back together.” I don’t think America is wrongfully apart, as the division before us is indeed important. I am not going to let the Republicans get by with anything under the veil of unity, which is what Bush is going to try to do.

For many years America has been the leader of the free world. We were the first ones to promote freedom and equality. Throughout the years people like Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy helped to continue proud tradition. The America we face in 2004 is but a shell of what America used to be. While we made much progress early in our history, that effort has stalled of late because of people like Bush.

We call ourselves the freest country in the world, but women’s rights are constantly threatened. We say this is the land of hope and opportunity, but so many have that hope snuffed out because they are not afforded the best education.

We have the most technological and financial wealth of any other country in the world and yet more than half of our citizens don’t have basic health or dental insurance. We talk about the economy, yet it seems the rich get richer and the poor, well they don’t get a darn thing.

When is it going to stop? I say now, because like the kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, I have a sneaking suspicion that Bush is calling for unity solely to benefit himself and his own agenda.

The stronghold of the Bush re-election was the South. States such as Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia and the Carolinas overwhelmingly fell into his win column. Though the blue-collar manufacturing population of these states is among the most hurt by the corporate-favoring domestic policies of Bush, they still overwhelmingly voted for him.

Cities have historically voted for Democrats because of the issues such as unemployment, lack of education, teen pregnancies, and financial disparity that often plague them. These same themes dominate in rural country areas, yet they vote Republican. Why? Because Republicans lure them away from what would be financially best for them by preying on their weakness for the Bible, fear of homosexuals, shooting guns, and fear of racial equality that still exists throughout the South.

Conservatives base the majority of their beliefs on the Bible. Some of these conservatives say that they believe the Bible word for word. But ask them about where the Bible mentions acceptance of slavery and women being inferior of men, and they say they don’t believe that part.

I don’t believe in, nor do I want any, religious hypocrisy in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of my country. I believe that all races and sexes are equal and deserve the same fair opportunities despite being rich or poor. My hero Larry Flynt said, “In this country, a pig has the same rights as the president.” I believe that.

Not all hope is lost, as behind every dark night there is indeed a dawn. Being a baseball fan, I know how a dark night feels. It is hard watching a team like the hated New York Yankees walk off the field with yet another championship while the team you rooted for takes the loss.

Like all true champions do, the key is to not lay there defeated and dejected. True champions are created through the test of time, not overnight. At a time like this one must get up, look themselves in the mirror and say this fight’s just begun. Certainly with Bush in office for four more years, more opportunities will present themselves to expose the truth, and I intend to be there at every chance. So should you.

Throughout the summer and fall, unprecedented numbers of young people came out, campaigned and did their best to inform the public about the mistruths of Bush. On Election Day, millions of first-time, educated young voters voted.

While this time we are going to end up being on the short end of the stick, clearly we must keep the faith and come out fighting, as there is still much work for the young people to do, especially here in the Commonwealth of Virginia where every seat in the General Assembly is up for re-election next year.

For me that getting back up off the ground and dusting myself off starts today, as I am going to keep the faith in believing what I believe. I hope you do too.