I've been a reader of DK ever since the early days of Howard Dean, but I've never posted in the diaries before. I've been keeping my thoughts at my own blog at
http://www.abujams.com but I wanted to start cross-posting stuff here because this is such an amazing community. I thought I'd make my first post something I wrote a couple days after the election (forgive me if this is a little late) but I thought it would be a good way to start off.
Wednesday afternoon I left work early and walked down to the White House. I'd been there just 24 hours before, hoping that it would be the last time I would look at it with embarassment and anger. No such luck, huh? I couldn't get very close to the South Lawn because the President re-elect and his family were exiting the house on their way to the Reagan center for their victory celebration. I was stopped and interviewed by a Dutch television crew just before I decided to leave. They asked me what I was feeling after the election. I looked into the camera and said, "I just want to tell the world that I am so sorry."
George W. Bush is the President of the United States for the next four years of our lives. That is a hell of a long time. How long ago does the 2000 election seem to you? I was a junior in high school! Four years is a painfully long time.
Well I'm starting to come out of my depression, and I hope you all are too. Because honestly we have a lot of work to do now. Things didn't turn out the way we had all hoped, and that really sucks. But you need to remember that the Republicans have been building this machine since they got beat in 1968 - they are very, very good at what they do. Well, we are building our own movement now. It started with the defeat in 2000, and its going to be a long, long process. It sucks that we have to be the ones to build it instead of simply enjoying its benifits. I don't think our generation is used to doing that. We have so many opportunities and privileges dropped in our laps that we don't really understand how hard it is to work for social and political change. In a way though, we should be excited. We are the ones that get to build our own movement for change, our own revolution to change the country -- isn't that what our generation is always looking for?
To all of you that are considering leaving the country, leaving your red home state, or giving up on politics all together, you need to reconsider. We have all done amazing things in the last couple of years. Just think about it. Think about all the amazing leaders that have emerged to help oust Bush. Think of how hard we all worked together and how much we learned. We are going to be stronger next time. Great social and political movements don't happen overnight, they are built over many years and they suffer difficult defeats, only to push forward in the face of diversity. Do you think George W. Bush and his base will feel sorry if we all pack up and leave the country? No, they will be sorry if we stay here and spend the next four years showing them how hard we are willing to work to dismantle everything they want to push through.
Things are not going to change if we keep refusing to participate in the only process that will make them. Go ahead and protest, get your emotions out there. But then come home and get to work. Progressive political organizing is the only way we are going to come out of this darkness - and I have to say guys, we are very, very good at it so far. Most of us started building this network with Howard Dean, and its only getting stronger.
If you are reading this post then you care. You might care a lot more than you think. I think all of us have learned a very valuable lesson this election -- voting is not enough. Period. If you are reading this post, then for you, voting is not enough. You need to keep reading the news, keep writing letters to the editor, keep donating money to progressive candidates in state and local elections. Start getting ready for the Congressional elections in two years. Run for office! Yeah, you. Are you over 18? Yep, you can run for office. Why not? C'mon guys, over fifty million people in this country all want what we want. We just need to do it.
And to all the people in this country who voted for George W. Bush; you are lucky to have all the rest of us. Very lucky. We are going to be here to make sure that what this country used to stand for is not raped beyond repair. We are going to be here to put up with the bigotry of your anti-gay policies. We are going to be here to put up with your hipocrisy of christian values and violent imperialism. We are going to be here to help make this nation safe even when your President chooses arrogance and ignorace over diplomacy and comprimise. We will be here to join you in mourning the hundreds more American kids who are going to die in the next four years as a result of this immoral war(s?). We are going to be here to pay back the enormous debt that your 'fiscally conservative' administration will accrue. You are all very lucky that we are not all fleeing the country and abandoning politics. It's okay, you can thank us later.
"I believe there is still something inherent in the fiber of America worth saving, and that the fortunes of the entire world may well ride on the ability of young Americans to face the responsibilities of an old America gone mad."
Phil Ochs