OK, right off, let’s get something straight: there’s a lot I don’t like about Bush/Cheney.
To support my point, I’ll provide an easy-to-understand (however most likely incomplete) list.
- The current administration promotes a culture of fear. Just look at our convenient color-coded death probability scale.
- Bush is very stubborn about accepting mistakes. I’ve never blamed the president for going to war because of false intelligence reports. I do have a problem with him not acknowledging until very late that the primary reason for spending over a hundred billion dollars was incorrect.
- A president that neglects the UN, the Geneva Conventions, the Kyoto Treaty, and others saddens me. That’s not the way to foster world cooperation; it isolates the United States as a bully in the world of politics.
- With such a strong stance on terrorism, it bothers me that more focus has not been devoted to North Korea and Iran. If WMD’s were the main reason for originally attacking Iraq, why Iraq instead of other countries?
- If the al Qaeda tie was so important, why did Bush supposedly plan to attack Iraq in 1999?
- Hypocricy: why accuse Kerry of flip-flopping when he’s done it himself?
- The economy is improving, I guess, but there’s a problem with the debt being close to its ceiling… again.
- “Mission Accomplished” / “Bring it on“… you don’t do that when troops are dying each day. If Bush didn’t like the banner, he should’ve ordered someone to remove it before he gave a thumbs-up in front of it.
- Speaking of things you don’t do, why smile in a debate about issues like Osama bin Laden?
- Abstinence-only education: because if you tell kids not to have sex, they won’t have sex. Rigggggghhhht. I’ll ask everyone I know who works with kids how well THAT will work. (and yes, I just linked to PP)
- Gay marriage: do you really need to ask how I feel about that one?
- No Child Left Behind: get kids out of bad schools, don’t improve them. The eventual privatization of education could be positive, I guess, but not for the people who live two hours away from the closest private school.
- “Pro-life”: I understand Bush’s stance on abortion. For someone whose philosophy treasures life, how can he dismiss the civilian death tolls in Afghanistan and Iraq? Is it not as important because they live in a country where terrorists supposedly hang out?
- “I don’t think the Patriot Act abridges your rights at all.”
- There’s definitely some shadiness with church and state.
- Bush is, overall, encouraging a nationalist policy (just look at how easy it is to get into the country).
- He’s had four years to be a uniter, not a divider.
Wish it would’ve turned out differently, but it’s done. A high voter turnout (yay!) has shown what the people of America want. Maybe my frustration is that I still don’t know any good reasons why anyone voted for Bush; I can understand voting Republican, but to support the man?
All of that said, it is important for the supporters of both sides to come together. I will always disagree with some policies (I would disagree with some Kerry policies, too), and I will make my voice heard. I encourage everyone else to do so. Partisan bickering, complaining, and gloating, though, will polarize the country more than ever. Our country’s representation this year is more conservative than the last. Though I don’t agree, I pledge to do all I can to find common ground.
Remember the couple of months after September 11, 2001? It was a time when the country was united. Everyone helped each other. We were all part of one country. I want that to happen again; let’s start now.