2004-11-10 - 10:05 a.m.
After the mourning...
So as I look at the final vote counts for the election, I think aobut this whole idea of division and separateness. I do abhor this whole "let's reach out to conservatives" bullshit. If anyone paid attention, conservatives have done nothing to moderate their agenda yet somehow took the House, Senate, and Presidency. There's an article in the Washington Post today about how "liberal" faith groups want to create a voice for liberal Christians. The problem is that they want to build bridges on issues of choice. They blame our side for not working iwth the other side on issues we can agree on, like lowering teen pregnancy and poverty. Well excuuuuuse me but those so called liberal religious leaders are full of shit. I work in those movements and "liberals" are working on those issues. Like all the time. And in ways that are effective and measurable, unlike like right-wing virginity tests that delay the time of first intercourse but then when youth who take such pledges break down and give into their carnal urges, they do so without the emotional maturity and protection.
BUT here's what I think we should stop doing - labeling the majority of the states that went for the Great Pretender red states. Why? Because anywhere between 45 to 49% of the people in those states voted for Kerry. How can we sweepingly label a state like that when the races was so close? Who do we leave behind? You know what's funny - 45% of Virginia voted for Kerry. That's a lot of Virginians. These are my neighbors. And how much difference is there between New Mexico that went for Bush and Oregon that went Kerry? I mean ORegon passed the anti-gay marriage ballot initiative. Oregon would rather not pay taxes that fund their schools. Washington would rather deprive kids of afterschool programs that pay a 10 cent espresso tax. I say that in good and bad ways we are all the same country. We write off states like Texas (which elected a Latina lesbian to become sherriff of Dallas) when Texas becomes the blueprint for so many other states. We need to support the good people in those so-called red states. We need to take the fight to their backyards.
