Fundamentalist State
We’re done. Ohio will play out for some time. It may not matter–New Mexico and Iowa look dicey at best. In any case, the writing is on the wall: George W. Bush will be the president for the next four years.
Turns out the youngsters didn’t show up–the draft, the gaping Social Security deficit that will fall in their laps, the bills they will owe for funding wealthy corporations to avoid taxes–about these things they apparently could not muster much of a shit.
The oldsters did show up, and despite a war on terror, failing jobs, a flagging economy, a desparate “reconstruction” in Iraq, vast income disparities, and a medical crisis on the horizon they were concerned with … “moral issues.” Apparently Karl Rove, that prophet of the dark side of the soul, knew well enough to play the homophobe card: in Puritan America, when the question is which peg goes in which hole, we are ALWAYS ready to commence the stonings.
The US has become a fundamentalist state. The questions of polity have become the questions of religious doctrine. It is more important to the practitioners of fundamentalist Christianity to concern themselves with the behavior of their fellow citizens than it is to craft careful economic and foreign policy. Where the rest of the post-industrial world races toward equality, our citizens dispense with it.
When we awake tomorrow, we will live in a one-party state. The Congress, the Presidency, and the judiciary will all be solidly in the hands of theocratic leaders. Lets call it straight: their fealty is first and last to a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. The Constitution is a secondary document.
Now the fight really begins. We’re seriously behind the eight ball now.
November 3rd, 2004 at 12:21 am
Jeff, get some sleep. If George Bush is to be the President for the next four years, I’d much rather hear it from John Kerry than from you. And there are still 200K+ provisional ballots in Ohio, and Kerry isn’t conceding anything that I know of.
November 3rd, 2004 at 2:28 am
Jeff, this is where the fight gets more difficult. However, defeat is not an option — though this election might have to slide by.
November 3rd, 2004 at 4:10 am
Jeff,
Look on the bright side. Now the republicans have to stop blaming the liberals of this country. Over the next few years our economy will see a steady increase in prices of goods and services, higher interests to service our growing debt, and a bear market.
Best yet, we can call Rush and Hannity everyday to complain about how the conservatives of this country is screwing it up.
November 3rd, 2004 at 5:22 am
The One-Party State
The American Street » Fundamentalist State The US has become a fundamentalist state. The questions of polity have become the questions of religious doctrine. It is more important to the practitioners of fundamentalist Christianity to concern themselves…
November 3rd, 2004 at 6:18 am
This About Sums It Up
. . . and because I’m too disappointed and angry to write so eloquently:
We’re done. Ohio will play out for some time. It may not matter–New Mexico and Iowa look dicey at best. In any case, the writing is on the wall: George W. Bush will be the…
November 3rd, 2004 at 6:26 am
BUSHWA!!!
When did all you people become such wimpy, weepy DEFEATISTS??? Ain’t NOBODY won, YET! Take a Prozac and get on the emailer!
No concession from Kerry! IT AIN’T OVER TILL THE LAST VOTE IS COUNTED!!! There’s MILLIONS of provisional & absentee ballots STILL uncounted! STOP the hype, START the count!
We waited FOUR years for this. We can wait two more weeks to COUNT ALL THE VOTES! No Premature Ejaculection!
Let them know, it ain’t over:
Contact Info
November 3rd, 2004 at 6:49 am
Jeff, to a degree, you’re correct. But the underlying human behavior is what must be examined to develop an effective counter, I think. I’ll splain that more after I get some sleep.
If Kerry loses, though, and ya play the stock market, don’t wait too long to exit. Markets go down for a bit when a Republican gets elected to the White House.
November 3rd, 2004 at 7:06 am
You nailed it, man. My sentiments exactly. I tend to be a rational optimist, and keep thinking we as a nation have evolved socially past the jingoist, fascist days of pre-WWII (look at Germany, Italy and Japan in those days). But we haven’t. It’s a pity that a leader can wave a flag, and every redneck and christian in the country, despite being hurt by the policies of that leader, will vote for him. It’s time to start letting our political leaders decide economic and social policy, and quit expecting them to be our “champions” of religion. Can people not see what a hypocrite Bush is? How transparent his “conversion” to christianity is? How hollow his “faith” is? I feel more cynical today, and badly bruised by our nation of self-appointed stone-throwers.
November 3rd, 2004 at 8:55 am
Folks,
We’re going to have to be extremely clear-eyed in the future. If Kerry pulls this out, I’ll delight to eat a steaming helping of crow. But from now on, it’s going to be fantastically important for us not to look at the bright side of things. We’ve lost it all. It’s time to accept that grim truth and begin a serious, very un-Daschle like opposition.
A nice place to start in our clear-eyed acceptance of reality is to recognize that after 4 years, wonderful organization, 2 billion dollars, and another couple billion hours of volunteer work and we’re still slaves to the dictates of Jerry Falwell.
Thems the facts.
November 3rd, 2004 at 9:29 am
Empires do not go down gracefully. Americans still believe they deserve their privileges.
November 3rd, 2004 at 10:31 am
I thought–hoped, maybe, that the ‘Murrican people were smarter, stronger, less fantastical than they seem to be. No matter the ‘Fear Factors’ and ‘Wife Swaps’ that stood in front of my eyes…
But the very slightest majority of My Fellow ‘Muricans are more worried that God can’t take care of himself and brown people are plotting to kill them all.
We are broke, as a nation. We are standing on the border of the age of reason and 51% of us have turned back to the dark ages–fear, superstition and hatred.
That great sucking sound you’re hearing is the best and the brightest walking before they have to run. It’s all down to the profit-taking and the selling-off now.
Enjoy, you faith-based fearmongers. Hopefully the country you have created for us will only be 1/1000th as bad as can possibly be.
November 3rd, 2004 at 10:33 am
AMERICAN TALIBAN
November 3rd, 2004 at 4:48 pm
Jeff Alworth from The American Street
says it well, think about it. I reposted his thoughts here:
November 22nd, 2006 at 11:00 am
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November 26th, 2006 at 4:02 am
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December 24th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
brenda song picture…
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January 15th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
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