(no subject)

[lagilman]

One last comment, and then it's time for me, at least, to move on.


If you look at the voting results? Please note that those of us who were directly impacted by the September 11th attacks voted overwhelmingly for John Kerry.


Think about that. And then start thinking forward. All we can do now is be the Americans we want to be, and create the country/perception of that country that we want.

A lot of people I know will use this election as a way to say (again) that our vote doesn't count.

Maybe it doesn't.

But our actions do.

Comments

[chickwriter.livejournal.com]

Amen.


BTW, friended you via Nea's journal.

I'm also a writer and enjoying Staying Dead.

[vincam.livejournal.com]

Yeah. What you said.

Plus ca change, plus ce la meme chose

[(Anonymous)]

A lot of people I know will use this election as a way to say (again) that our vote doesn't count.

Maybe it doesn't.

But our actions do.

I did not watch the polls and the election results. I ignored it as much as possible, concentrated on other things, and went to bed. This morning would be soon enough to learn the results.

The results were a disappointment. but not a surprise.

Thinking about it, I came to several conclusions:

1) This is a representative democracy. The majority wins. This means that sometimes our candidate loses. That's inherent in the process, and must be dealt with. You buy the package, not just the good parts.

2) Our side did a get out the vote effort. So did thiers. There were more of them. See #1

3) This election seems to have had one of the largest voter turnouts in recent history. Many more people actually got off thier butts and voted. This is hopeful, despite the results, as it is precisely that involvement that makes a democracy work.

4) I have not, thus far, heard allegations of the widespread fraud, corruption, and intimidation that characterized the last election and led many of us to think the election had been hijacked. It appears the winner won fair and square. This is also good, overall, despite the disappointment.

5) The results indicate that regardless of what we think of him, a majority (slim though it may be) of voters think Bush and company are doing enough of the right things to merit return to office.

So we have to ask, what are those things? What did Bush do right enough in the eyes of the electorate that they voted him in again?

And we have to ask who are the folks who voted him back in? What moves them? What made them decide he was a better choice? What were the important issues to them? (I suspect they aren't the same ones that motivated us.) What makes them the majority, and us the minority?

We have another four years of Bush in the White House, and Republican domination of Congress. We survived the first four years. We can survive the next four. And we have four years to analyze and understand the factors that created this result, and figure out ways to counter them.

But we can't simply continue to preach to the converted. Nor can we just try to swing the undecided. We must understand and somehow reach the decided for the other side, and find ways to express in ways they will understand why the current policies and actions may not be the right ones.

We need to understand what made them the majority. This is not a matter of rational thought. This is not a matter of reasoned debate. This is a matter of what people want, and what they fear. This is a matter of gut level reactions, and it's the guts, not the minds, that must be reached and swayed.

We've got four years to do it, and it's our actions that will have the effects, one way or the other.

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready, get set, go.
______
Dennis

[lagilman]

Be welcome!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

They were joking on The Comedy Show that Fear governed the actions of Bush supporters.

Not a joke--I think it's true.

Now we have to find the words that the other side can hear, and meet everyone in the middle to talk.