Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: Opinion

Twenty-two percent of the population, who voted overwhelmingly for Bush, put "moral issues" on the top of their list of election conerns. These people, who have reveled in calling the Democrats "out of touch" and "weak on defense" thought it was more important to come out on top in a pissing contest between urbanites and themselves, than resolving issues like terrorism, the war in Iraq, or jobs and the economy.

They didn't think about the issues and they didn't ask the tough questions. They voted for the guy that reminded them of their old drinkin' buddy, instead of the one that sounded like the nerd who made them feel like dumbasses in high school civics class.

This wasn't about protecting children, or providing for a more moral future. So what was it, to roughly 22 % of the population, that this election was all about? Trivial things like insurance and tax benefits and hospital visitation rights to gay couples, if the 11 states that ratified anti-gay marriage amendments into their constitutions mean anything.

The red states have seen firsthand the effects of Bush's policies and have still ignored what was right before their eyes; it's red-state jobs in manufacturing that are being lost due to Bush's reactionarily pro-corporate policies. The blue-states tend to have service and information-based economies.

Entire communities in Topeka, Kansas may be devastated when the factory shuts down, but, in a college-laden place like Boston, well, it doesn't look like the "ol' learnin' mill" is shutting down anytime soon.

In your average blue-state there are, plain and simply, more jobs and more opportunities for a better future, so fewer military enlistments. It's mostly the sons and daughters of the red-states that are coming back home in flag-draped coffins.

Republican commentators are not incorrect in stating that urbanites like us, many of us liberal and secular, have unfairly sneered at "people of faith." Traditionally, however, we have not viewed their way of life with that much disgust. That is not how the 22% feels. They ignored issues of life, death and financial security to "put us in our place."

Well congratulations. Us liberals really learned something. No longer, will we look at "people of faith" as stupid, ignorant, or naïve.

You showed us that you have more concern for what's likely to make you uncomfortable at home, than for your neighbor who lost his job, or his kid who's in Fallujah. You'd be lucky if the first word that came to mind isn't "monstrous."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools