Journal: Election Reflection

Well, it has been over 2 weeks since the 04 presidential election and I feel as though my initial disappointment has waned. I was really hoping that John Kerry would pull through and prove victorious but that did not happen. Actually, I find it hard to believe that Mr. Bush got as many votes as he did. Before this election I'll admit that I was politically ignorant. Ever since I graduated high school I told myself that I would become more active and vote in every election. It just never really seemed all that interesting and gradually I lost interest all together in politics. Every thing changed with this election and every chance I got I would be reading political news, watching CNN, and watching every single debate intensely. I heard a lot of people bad mouth Mr. Bush but in all honesty I started following this election with a non partisan viewpoint. It didn't take very long to change that. I realized that Mr. Bush has not been completely truthfull with the american people. Although I would come to expect this from any politician, it was all to blatant in this case. Then came the war. I thought it was Osama Bin Laden that orchestsrated the attacks on 9/11, so I thought to myself "Why the hell is this guy still at large and now all of our troops are in Iraq?" It makes no sense. I argee that the world is better off without Saddam Hussien but at the time, I doubt that he was as great of a threat as the Bush adminstration made him out to be. I think they know he was not really a threat and that there are other reasons for this war but I will not go into that. Then comes Nov. 2, Mr. Bush gets re-elected. WTF???? Coming into this election completely non-partisan, I don't see how anyone would feel that Mr. Bush can do a better job than Senator Kerry. Did these people even watch the debates? Or do any type of research at all? I felt this was a no-brainer. Then I come to /. and it seems as though most people on this site feel the same way I do(which did not actually surprise me). I hear comments flying all around "Kerry is a flip-flopper and Bush is steadfast". I for one do not see flip-flopping a terrible thing especially with the situation we are in both at home and abroad. Steadfastness can be a good thing, but also awful if you are steadfast in a downward spiral. If people do not change their minds, nothing ever changes. Then I hear that Mr. Bush got reelected because of his moral and christian values. I really hope this was not what was in most voters minds when they went to the polls. If it is, we almost resemble the taliban. I do not consider myself a christian. I would say that I am still soul searching although I agree more with the wiccan, earth-based philosophies than any theological ones. Heck, even the Star Wars force/light/dark mindset sits a little easier with me. I really dont want to live in a religious state but thats what america seems like. The colonists didn't come here to have freedom of religion, rather they wanted a place where their religious beliefs could take over. Sigh, It would be more ideal if everyone kept their beliefs in their souls and stop focusing so much on coverting others and trying to make their religion the strongest one. I am forming my own beliefs and I don't need nor have any desire to have others believe as I do. But sadly, we as a population have not progressed as far as I would have hoped. Sometimes I feel that I was born centuries before I was supposed to be. My mind is free, unobstructed and unbiased. Yet I have noticed that a lot of peoples opinions are not original thought, more often they blindly reflect the views of others close to them. Or at least it seems this way.

Closing this entry out, I will give Mr. Bush my full support in light of the fact I don't think he was the best man for the job. I will not bash or result to childish name calling. I only hope that he is more truthful and more open this time around and also makes better decisions concerning wartime deployments.

Also before I go, lets stop bashing Canada. I've been in the U.S.A. most of my life and I love it here but we could really take some pointers from our neighbors up north. Their annual violent crime rate is probably less than a 1 month rate for some states here(Why is that? Can someone answer this?) Also they have FREE healthcare or am I wrong in stating this? Unlike my situation where I cannot afford insurance as it would cut into my check too much and I would not be able to pay rent(I did have to have some mouth surgery and the bill was $800 which my wife had to use her credit card for and put us further into debt.) I love the U.S.A. but how the hell can anyone bash canada?