After watching and reading here I decided to submit a diary... I am not the best writer, but this is from my heart.
I wrote this on November 5, 2004 after the Kerry loss. I was heartbroken and scared.
Since I was very involved in the campaign to elect John Kerry I am heart broken and frightened for the future of America. I am sad for the direction and vision that 59 million voters decided our country should be heading. I find it difficult to comprehend this division in our country but here are my thoughts on the next four years. We all have the power to come closer together and at the very least have a conversation, it is not up to Washington, it is up to us, this is our land.
Here is how I see it.
I see the gap widening between rich and poor, the haves and have more, supporting corporate America at the expense of the middle class.
I see the denigration of our public schools where only the poor and the impaired will be taught.
I see the further raping of our environment and the most beautiful natural resources on the face on this earth being compromised, the polluting of the energy companies with lowered federal standards being allowed and encouraged.
I see the loss of a woman's rights in her choices about her body and her physical and psychological health.
I see preventive medicine unable to be practiced because of the huge costs of health care and catastrophic care breaking small businesses backs while the pharmaceuticals stocks soar.
I see the privatization of social security to benefit Wall Street.
I see the media becoming advocates of political parties instead of reporting the news in a non-partisan way and the denigration of our public airways.
I see the political arena becoming more mean spirited and vicious and the division of Americans becoming broader.
I see the discrimination and civil rights against homosexuals increasing.
I see the separation of the church and state being further blurred by the judicial system and appointments.
I see George Orwell's "big brother" becoming more of a reality through laws such as the Patriot Act.
I see wars being waged and thousands of innocent civilians being killed in places like Iraq while genocide in Sudan and Uganda are ignored.
I see the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the inability, because of lack of respect and participation, to use international organizations to stem the tide.
I see the continued spread of AIDS disseminating the population of Africa and leaving millions of children without parents,
I see an economy based on the military industrial complex and Dwight D. Eisenhower warnings from his 1961 farewell speech going unheeded. He said, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
I see the urban areas of our vast and beautiful country becoming war zones with the proliferation of firearms and the violence leeching into suburbia, because we deny a conversation of why we are such a violent society.
I see our country and it's people suffering, going hungry and homeless, while billions of dollars are spent in some far away land fighting unnecessary wars for profit.
I see the economically disadvantaged and poorly educated youth of a huge populace of this world finding their solace in hating us, not because of our freedom, but because of our wealth, how we misuse it and exploit the worlds resources.
I see the penal system expanding and privatized and a profit motive supporting laws to put more people behind bars all in the name of profit.
I see a group of people that deny a woman's choice but scream to put people to death, some as young as sixteen, because our government believes it has the right to judge a persons worth then kill them.
I see the greatest scientific minds of America leaving for foreign lands to develop the breaking research necessary to end afflictions such as Parkinson Disease and Alzheimer's. A huge scientific accomplishment, once a haven only to great American minds.
But with all of these disturbing visions I have a hope for a greater America, a place of one voice. I was one of the 55 million voters who supported John Kerry. For me he gave hope and filled a place in my soul that was good and righteous and would represent me, personally, as the leader of the most awesome country in the world. The place where I believe America once stood and still can hold its place on the earth.
And I will hold these honorable places in my heart when I am 80 years old and be proud of my place and all of these people, 55 million strong, who are proud with me and our dream of a finer, brighter, kinder America.
I am proud to be aligned with the voters in the blue zone of the urban areas, the cities where the minorities and poor live. We have your back.
I am proud to be aligned with the Kerry voters who reside in the counties that house our finest Universities. Learn and learn well.
I am proud to be aligned with the blue state of Illinois where Barak Obama is a new United States Senator; an African American with a vision of one America. Be positive and express a brighter future, you who have to bear burdens simply by the color of your skin.
I am proud to be aligned with the 100's of celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seeger, Robin Williams, Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Meryl Streep, Steve Buscemi, Don Imus and others, who took a risk and lost a lot of their fan base, hence money, by supporting John Kerry.
I am proud to stand beside, if they would let me, statesmen like former Governor William Milliken and John D. Eisenhower who broke from their life long party affiliation and endorsed John Kerry.
I am proud to be aligned with New York City where the tragedy of 9-11 happened, is fresh and where 85% of them voted for Kerry. New York City -- the place where these barbarians will strike again, not Livingston County where I reside.
I am proud to be aligned with the majority of the youth in this country who voted and came out in record numbers to support John Kerry. They sustained my belief that I am as young as I feel.
I am proud of the Christians I know that study the bible and comprehend that this great book is more about helping those in poverty and striving for peace creating a compassionate world, than it is about the sanctity of marriage and abortion. I am sure most religious beliefs hold true on this.
I am proud to be aligned with the entire world where the Kerry support outnumbered the Bush support except in the Phillippines. Europeans supported Kerry by as high as 80%.
I am proud to be affiliated with organizations such as MoveOn and America Coming Together, who had over 100,000 volunteers, most of them under 30, all over this country to get out the vote. These organizations wrapped their arms around a large part of the U.S and supported all votes, not just a party.
I am proud to be a part of the Livingston County grassroots group, formed for this election, which worked so hard and put so many hours to make a difference in their own community where they live.
And lastly I am proud of my family who put up with my hours on the internet delving into politics, watching BBC and PBS news and most of all for voting along with me, because they trust and believe in me and because we all voted for the candidate, who we believe is a great American and patriot and who would have been a president to be proud of.
My tears are shed, there may be more, but I believe and love this great land and will continue to work hard to make my country be a place where I can stand tall and be proud of the position and place that our forefathers designed for us and where we have the power to be.
Thank you America.