Third and final post of the night

Politics and The Words [Arguments] of the Masses

In the past week, I've been paying close attention to the reaction of Americans and the election results. I have heard some, what word do I want to use here?, illogical arguments. I'm not trying to bash Republicans here in any way and I'll admit, I've heard a few Democrats speaking "Conspiracy Theory". The thing is, the election is over. We have George W. Bush as President of the United States for another four years. Public opinion aside, he's still in charge. I may not like it, but that's still the fact.

Does that mean the voices of the masses should go unheard? No way. I think people still should voice their opinions, their ideas, and their dreams. That's what this country is made of.

I have heard, however, a couple of odd phrases and arguments.

From the single mother who voted for Bush. Context: She was asked why she voted for Bush.
"These past four years have been hard. I have so many bills and I'm barely making enough money to cover them. I need more time off from work and I need a raise."
Person questioning her, "What does that have to do with Bush?"
"It's not NABABNA's fault I don't get paid enough [she works for the bank]. It's the current administration's."
Person questioning her again, "So you still voted for Bush, even though you blame him?"
"Yes. I'm not going to convince you I see."

What???

From the devoted Democrat:
"You know what happened don't you? The exit polls showed that Kerry won. They're 90% accurate. I knew this would happen. It's all because of his family. It's a conspiracy."

Well, there's a great argument. You've convinced me. [Sarcasm is hard when in print.]

What about actually saying something? Something meaningful, something substantial? Does that exist?

If someone had asked the single mother why she voted for Bush and she replied, "I'm pro-life" or "I believe in this war" or "I think he's done a good job with the economy" or even "I like his turn of phrase" (okay, that last one's a joke), I could understand why she voted the way she did. With her answer, I wonder about how much brain-washing she's been under. She has no clue why she chose who she did.

For the devoted Democrat (I just like the ring to that), if when asked about the election results (which he actually brought up in conversation because he knows I'm liberal and it seemed safe) he had said, "Did you see this fact?" or "I'm still bothered because I am pro-choice and worried about women's rights" or "I understand the facts about these events and I am worried because [insert an actual argument here]" I would get it. I have met a lot of people quick to jump on the conspiracy theory wagon.

I've said before that I'm liberal. That doesn't mean I like Michael Moore or that I buy into celebrity endorsements for one candidate over another. I'm liberal because I am pro-choice. I'm liberal because I believe that all human beings deserve the same rights. I'm liberal because I want to see all minorities treated like the majority. I'm liberal because I believe in helping people get the same chances. I'm not saying that we should give away free money, but I am saying that I'd be afraid of any country to abolish all forms of welfare and goodwill (the system does need reforms and checks and balances but it does help some people get back on their feet). I believe that different backgrounds help create better ideas and better working groups. In the sense of the economy, I'm more middle of the road.

I think in the future, democracy will evolve. Democracy is not the end all solution. As time progresses, things do change and things need to change to remain relevant.

So either side of the argument, please just make your argument concrete. Make it mean something. Don't just speak to hear your own voice, think about what you're saying. Voice your opinion, please just know what your opinion is.

3 Comments:

At 9:00 AM, CarpeDM said...

This is interesting. The single mother blames the current administration but yet votes for the people she blames. The devoted Democrat can only say that there's a conspiracy but can't back it up. Hmm.

Here's why I voted for Kerry. I support gay rights. Kerry, while he is against gay marriage, is also against a gay marriage ban and supports civil unions. Bush, as we all know, is screamingly against gay marriage and wants to pass the gay marriage ban ammendment. Since I was brought up to believe that everyone should be treated the same, regardless of color, creed, religion and sexual preference, that goes against my beliefs. Kerry won my vote. It was that simple.

I thought it was funny that on the post I had written about my concerns, I was told that I shouldn't listen to Michael Moore. The thing is, I don't. I never saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and I probably never will. I didn't listen to anyone except the candidates and made my decision based on what they said. Bush is against gay marriage. Kerry is for civil unions. Kerry won my vote. Because sometimes you don't always get exactly what you want but you hope that it will work out for the best.

I really liked this post, Beth. I'm sure there will be a few people that think otherwise.

At 10:11 AM, rod said...

yes. This is a good post. I thought nothing could possibly be more fascinating than the campaigns, but it seems that the post-election banter is at least as interesting, if not more.
An interesting thing to me is that we all seem to be in such a bubble that we truly think that everyone who feels differently than we do are just some tiny, insignificant group that makes a lot of noise. But I think everyone saw this fallacy as a result of the elections. Gay rights are not supported only by homosexuals, nor are they rejected only by right wing fundamentalist Christians.
I would think that all this revelation would cause us to view each other a bit more broadly rather than compartmentalize and stereotype everyone into a convenient record store category bin. But then I read that special squeaky wheel groups are fundraising and re-grouping to try and make America all about their ONE issue and influence the outcome of 2008. Enter Jerry Falwell and the moral majority. geez. have we not learned anything?

At 8:19 PM, Matt said...

I especially liked this post as well Little Sister, it does say a lot for the thought processes of some of the people out there. I am still baffled at what the single mother said, and I am especially intrigued at the arguing tactic of the devout democrat. If you are going to argue a point, have some facts to back it up. Not just some really intresting sound bite, and as far as the single mother complaining about not having any money because of the current administration, and then voting for the same exact administration, all I can say is this: Thanks for the wasted vote. Because of more peopl like her and the fact that most people did not pay close attention and have a care about the way the country is running, look what happens. We have another four years of the same damn thing. I am so thrilled (yes that was sarcasam.) Oh well, hopefully more people will have learned a lesson by this and 2008 will be a better election year. Let me hang onto that small glimmer of hope, please, it is the only thing that will make the rest of the four years bearable.
Big Brother,
"Crazy" Matt