| I
am a member of the generation of young Americans who awoke two days
ago to the bitter disappointment that we face another four years
of a Bush presidency. Many are depressed today as they reflect on
what this means for the future and what it says about our fellow
countrymen.
But before we all give up, throw our
hands to the sky and declare defeat, we should remember a few things.
This country has survived a Civil War, a civil rights movement,
two world wars, presidents the likes of McKinley, Harding and Nixon;
anti-Communist witch hunts, a Great Depression and other lesser
known ills and disasters both political and social. It has survived
because, beyond the ignorance and religious fundamentalism, we are
all, regardless of subcategory, bound together and protected by
a constitution that has withstood attacks from cold hearts and weak
minds since its inception.
Those of us who recognize the current
administration for what it is: a blatant threat to the middle class,
to women's rights, to the environment, to the image of this great
nation in the eyes of the world, need to hold onto our optimism.
We need to remain steadfast in our commitment to, and our faith
in, the system and the American people governed by it.
Those Americans who made their choice
yesterday for a president whose policies run contrary to their own
economic self-interests did so because they were duped. They voted
based on false pretenses. As a friend of mine is fond of saying,
George W. Bush is the SUV of political candidates: he makes you
feel safer, even when you're more vulnerable to danger.
For those who see religion as the insurmountable
divide in this country, they should know that God isn't the issue
here; it's truth. People will only see what they want to see, until
there's nowhere else turn and the truth stares them squarely in
the face.
I believe it's going to get worse before
it gets better. More American soldiers are going to die, more hard
working American citizens are going to fall below the poverty line
and more of our civil rights will be lost, sacrificed in the name
of security. The damage this man and his party is capable of inflicting
on all of us will take decades to reverse, but because of our constitution,
we will reverse it. In time, we will recover from George W. Bush,
make sure history remembers him for what he is and restore the good
name of this, the greatest nation on the planet, in the eyes of
the rest of the world. The fight isn't over; it's only just begun.
Wesley Ratko
"Make no little plans; they have
no magic to stir men's blood.... Make big plans... aim high in hope
and work."
-Daniel
Burnham |
