Opinion: Now what?
Megan Mount
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Since Tuesday night there's been much talk about moving to Canada. Some expect a civil war to break out. There's talk of burning draft cards, which haven't even been issued. Yet.
While it may seem inconceivable to most in the liberal Northeast, a slight majority of America has chosen the Republican incumbent to be our president for four more years. Despite the fact that President Bush has given tax cuts to the rich and social programs have suffered because of it, and that he wants to ban gay marriage and abortion, and that he brought America into the "wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time," the red states have spoken.
The Republicans also took the Senate, which is a severe blow to the system of checks and balances. It seems as though President Bush has now been given free reign.
Eleven states have already voted to amend their definitions of marriage to prohibit gay marriage. This will only pave the way for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, with a Republican president pushing it forward and a Republican congress passing it. Rowe v. Wade may be overturned, stripping women of their right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. The rich will continue to get richer, the poor poorer, and America more hated in the world.
Furthermore, the president said he is going to privatize part of social security, a measure that will affect our generation long after he is gone. Gas prices are up, and the number of flu shots available this year is down. More and more American soldiers are dying, and our forces are overextended. Even the National Guard, our premier force in homeland security, didn't meet its expected quota for recruits this year. Keep your eyes peeled--the draft may be on its way back.
So what is a frightened liberal to do?
A charismatic leader would be a start. But perhaps we also need the spirit and activism of the '60s; we need to stop focusing on problems and start focusing on solutions. We need a Democrat to come across as the "common man" again, and it has to happen soon.
We need for the free press to remain free, and to report exactly what is happening in this country and because of this country. We can have hope in the thought that if the country is educated in a truly "fair and balanced" way by the media, this cannot happen again.
But before we do anything else, we need to study why and how this happened.
It may not be a bad idea for Americans to consider moving to other countries. They should just do the research and make sure that the country they're moving to has a stable enough democracy so that they won't be dissapointed again.
Liberals have very few choices besides evacuation, however. They can call for a recount, but without paper ballots in places like Florida it will be to no avail. John Kerry has already taken the high road and conceded, and so should the rest of us.
Democrats will now be forced to make a bipartisan effort to legislate, because Republicans have taken the Senate and the presidency. It's beat 'em or join 'em time.