The last thirty-six hours have been somewhat disheartening for me. Not because Bush was re-elected and “America’s going to hell.” But rather, I am shaken by the flood of derogatory words from a party who claims to be the more accepting of the two. Before I comment on some of the statements I’ve collected, let me say this: I did not vote for Bush. But I didn’t vote for Kerry either. We need election reform in this country in a major way. We need more than just two standardized candidates who will throw around splinters pulled from the planks of their party’s platform. I cast my vote toward the abolition of the two-party system; I voted independent. That being said, let’s move on…

I just can’t believe how freakin brainless and brainwashed a percentage of Americans are.

They’re not “brainwashed” just because they voted for a different candidate than you did. Have a look at the exit polls and see that for an extremely large percentage of voters, “moral values” were the deciding factor. Apparently, these people want a president who espouses those same values.

I feel sick. If only we had let the south secede back in 1860.

So if a group of people have an opinion that’s different from yours, they are no longer worthy to be Americans? How does that fit in with the liberal agenda? I was under the impression that all people were to be accepted and affodred the same inalienable rights set forth in the founding documents of this country. Or does that principle only apply if their beliefs are “progressive”?

4 more years. damn fly over states!

So now mid-westerners are equally ignorant and ill-informed? I’m beginning to see a pattern here. Apparently, your opinion is only relevant if you live in California, New York, or Massachusetts?

This result sucks, but it’s been great to realise how many Americans aren’t the gun-toting, creation-theory teaching scary people the rest of the world sees.

The right to bear arms is in the Bill of Rights for crying out loud. Do you imagine those same “scary people” also expect to be allowed freedom of speech, a speedy trial, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure?

…

I always really struggle with who will get my vote in presidential elections. My views on certain issues are conservative. For example, I believe in a smaller government. I don’t want to hand over a portion of my hard-earned money to fund government programs I may or may not believe in. I paid my own college tuition for the education I needed to get this job and, call me crazy, but I tend to believe the money I make should be mine to do with as I see fit. Does that make me cold? Insensitive to the plight of those less fortunate? Maybe. Probably. But still, it’s my money. I earned it. I should be allowed to spend it.

Let’s look at it from a different angle. I hate turnip greens. The smell, the taste, the texture… the thought makes me nauseous. What if, though, America’s turnip green farmers had a massive surplus? Nobody was buying greens. The farmers and their families are in danger of going hungry, of freezing in cold winter temperatures. So the government decides that every American must go out and purchase X amount of turnip greens in order to take care of the farmers. Well that’s all well and good for the farmers but I just spent $3.99 on food that I am never going to eat.

Another thing we need to understand is that when someone truly believes in a particular god, there is no separation of church and state for them when it comes to forming their opinions. A true Christian or Muslim or Jew holds his beliefs within himself where they undoubtedly will have influence in the voting booth. As a person who was raised Christian, I find it exceptionally difficult to distance myself from what I feel is morally right or wrong when I am choosing a candidate. My instinct tells me to vote for the guy who is against gay marriages and abortion.

But then logic overtakes faith and that’s where my more liberal side comes out. My head tells me that we cannot say that the gay lifestyle is legal out of one side of our mouths and they’re not allowed to marry out of the other. I believe that people are born homosexual and the only argument for not allowing them union is a religious one, one that is strictly prohibited by the constitution of the United States of America. For religious reasons, I feel that abortion, as a rule, is wrong. But I don’t need the government to tell me that. I can decide on my own, thank you very much. And so can every other woman in the US.

I don’t know if I’ve made any sense here or not. But I feel better having had my say.