Don't Wait Till 2008

My fellow brokenhearted liberals, disappointed democrats and freedom-loving blue voters, November 2 was a difficult day for us all. George Bush securing power for another four years, republican majorities in the House and Senate, and the virtual crumbling of America's faith in the Democratic party all paint a fairly bleak picture for the future of progressive politics in the United States. But 51% of 59% of eligible American voters does not a mandate make, and it is important, now more than ever, that we unite to make sure that our president knows this. Ronald Reagan had a mandate; George Bush has a bitterly divided nation, not all of which is ready to follow him into the bowels of radical conservatism. In light of what seems like the overwhelming redness of the United States, fear and hate-based voting and George Bush's frightening second term agenda, the friendly offers from our neighbors to the north to crash on Canada's couch for four years or so can sound extremely tempting. But running away in the face of defeat (literally or otherwise) would be the wrong choice. Rather than giving up and just handing the United States over to the radicals in charge, we must stay and fight. Our candidate may have conceded the election, but we cannot concede this country.

Now, in spite of what happened on November 2, we must assert that we will not roll over for regressive domestic policy, for endless war, for a bullying and alienating foreign policy, or for all those who seek to strip us of our rights and liberties. Maybe it is important for us to realize that we may not win. Maybe it is motivating for us to realize that they may succeed in privatizing social security. And they may succeed in abolishing income tax, effectively dramatically shifting the tax burden to the low and middle classes. They may even succeed in drilling the Alaskan Wildlife Preserve for oil, constitutionally banning gay unions, and outlawing a woman's right to choose. Already 11 states have voted against allowing gays the right to marry. Already, judges have upheld the right of pharmacists to refuse to fill women's prescriptions for birth control. And already, in some places, women seeking abortion counseling are being given government-issued pamplets falsely implying that abortion causes cancer. Is this really the country you want to live in? A United States where morality and faith are forced upon us, whether we want it or not. A United States where equality and tolerance is cast aside, and certain people are denied the right to their own private "pursuit of happiness." A United States where we have increasingly less freedom than the generations that came before us.

This country has made a lot of progress since its conception. We can make so much more. Now is not the time to start going backwards. It seems that 51% of 59% of Americans are okay with the direction this country is headed. But I will admit right now that I am terrified of what this country is poised to become. And I know that I can't live in the country that they're trying to create. Which is why I have to live here now, and do whatever I can to make sure that that doesn't happen. And I want to ask you to do the same. It may seem like we are powerless right now, but I maintain hope that this can get better. And we may lose the fight right now, but at the very least, we can be a perpetual thorn in the side of the establishment. We can make accomplishing some of the scarier, more radical things on their agenda a lot more difficult. And in the end, we may lose, but not without irritating the hell out of them first.

So protest, loudly and without ceasing. March. Write letters. Write songs. Make documentaries. Make phone calls. Donate money. Donate time. Email. Wear a pin with a crossed out W on it. Flash the peace sign to random passersby. Read the news, and then, read the other news. Do your own research. Think, question, and discuss. And for fuck's sake, don't vote to keep people who love each other from legally marrying! Do anything and everything that you're capable of, and start doing it immediately. Don't wait until 2008 to reclaim America. Your country needs you NOW.