Leonard Nimoy
05-11-2004, 01:07
There's been alot of strong opinions posted on this board concerning the outcome of this election. That really doesn't surprise me, and it's not a bad thing. Many people, like me, are disappointed. But I believe that I'm disappointed for reasons other than those expressed here.
This election was largely symbolic for me. I'm not old enough to vote; I turn 18 in March. All that left me with was a feeling of complete ineffectivenes concerning the outcome. I mean, I could debate with my 18 year-old peers as heatedly as I wanted, but it wouldn't change their minds. Theoretically, I'm not even important in this election. I can't vote.
The symbolism in this election may have been something purely imagined by me. I am a liberal. I tend to decide issues on my own, rather than immediately taking liberal stances upon them, but my sentiments have always leaned to the right. This obviously put me at odds with President Bush. Kerry, a liberal, seemed a beacon of hope to me. Sure, his stances may have been vague, but he wasn't Bush. That was a sentiment all liberals seemed to share.
In my mind, this election was not just Bush vs. Kerry, but also the Conservative vs. the Liberal. Gay rights against family values. I so badly wanted the Liberal mindset to win out. And, in my youthful naivete, I believed that the rest of America wanted the Liberals to triumph as much as I did.
Wednesday morning, I found that this was not the case.
As I said, I am disappointed by the results. But I don't necessarily believe that, just because Bush is still president, the world will suddenly end. Even I can see that that is illogical, and melodramatic. At the same time, I don't believe that all problems would have been solved by Kerry entering the White House. That, too, is illogical. To me, the results say that America is more Conservative than Liberal. That's the source of my disappointment.
I write this not out of bitterness. This country was built upon the principle of majority rule, and the majority has spoken. I don't believe that Bush cheated. But what the results make me want to do is leave. Not because the United States of America is a terrible place, but because it simply isn't for me. I know I can't do a thing right now. I'm seventeen, still young and stupid. I've got four years of getting drunk and waxing philosophic in college ahead of me. But maybe, after that's all done with, I can go somewhere else.
I'm thinking Ireland. Hazah for alcoholism.
Long-winded and dramatic? Absolutely. Flame away.
This election was largely symbolic for me. I'm not old enough to vote; I turn 18 in March. All that left me with was a feeling of complete ineffectivenes concerning the outcome. I mean, I could debate with my 18 year-old peers as heatedly as I wanted, but it wouldn't change their minds. Theoretically, I'm not even important in this election. I can't vote.
The symbolism in this election may have been something purely imagined by me. I am a liberal. I tend to decide issues on my own, rather than immediately taking liberal stances upon them, but my sentiments have always leaned to the right. This obviously put me at odds with President Bush. Kerry, a liberal, seemed a beacon of hope to me. Sure, his stances may have been vague, but he wasn't Bush. That was a sentiment all liberals seemed to share.
In my mind, this election was not just Bush vs. Kerry, but also the Conservative vs. the Liberal. Gay rights against family values. I so badly wanted the Liberal mindset to win out. And, in my youthful naivete, I believed that the rest of America wanted the Liberals to triumph as much as I did.
Wednesday morning, I found that this was not the case.
As I said, I am disappointed by the results. But I don't necessarily believe that, just because Bush is still president, the world will suddenly end. Even I can see that that is illogical, and melodramatic. At the same time, I don't believe that all problems would have been solved by Kerry entering the White House. That, too, is illogical. To me, the results say that America is more Conservative than Liberal. That's the source of my disappointment.
I write this not out of bitterness. This country was built upon the principle of majority rule, and the majority has spoken. I don't believe that Bush cheated. But what the results make me want to do is leave. Not because the United States of America is a terrible place, but because it simply isn't for me. I know I can't do a thing right now. I'm seventeen, still young and stupid. I've got four years of getting drunk and waxing philosophic in college ahead of me. But maybe, after that's all done with, I can go somewhere else.
I'm thinking Ireland. Hazah for alcoholism.
Long-winded and dramatic? Absolutely. Flame away.