Actually I don't think has much to do with being afraid. I think the people in New York and DC have much more to be afraid of and they went solidly for Kerry. Hate to sound arrogant, but I think it comes down to ignorance, stupidity and fundamentalism. People who are religious in their views, be it with respect to abortion, gay marriage, or gun ownership, are more comfortable with Bush. We live in a country where we are told to be tolerant of others religious views. This has allowed the American madrases to run amok. Now we have a populace that believe that their ignorant misguided views on "social issues" are more important than health care, the economy, the environment, our standing in the world. They have no counter balancing understanding for science, geopolitics, or econmics. Furthermore, they are also so indoctrinated in a sort of 21st century manifest destiny that they don't comprehend that an Iraqi life has the same value as an American life. Also with Bush they are allowed to ignore what is so plainly obvious to anyone who actually has a non-flat EEG - that you can't continue to run up deficits (which is a concept they can't comprehend anyway), that you can't continue to ruin the environment, that you can't consume fossil fuels like it is an endless resource, that you can't continue to piss off the rest of the world. This is very much reflected in the county-by-county differences that P___ observed.
I think it is time to put religious tolerance aside and not accept ignorant false teachings from churches. It is time for a bright world (http://www.the-brights.net/).
Fact of the matter, I don't think it comes down to what people actually believe, whether it is fear or "social issues". I think practicalities like having voting on a Tuesday (when it makes no difference to retirees (read Bush supporters), but is a royal pain for young people. According to one commentator (Olle Wästberg - I am not sure of his source, but I trust it is accurate) only 17 per cent of young people voted. 17 per cent. What if that is true in Ohio and an additional 45 percent of young people had voted? Is it because of apathy or because it is tough to stand in line for hours in the rain when you have been at work all day, are tired, and hungry and perhaps have children at home to feed? What's up with that. Is early voting not available in Ohio?
On Nov 3, 2004, at 9:42 AM, S_____ wrote:
Burnet County was 73% Bush, 26% Kerry, 1% Badnarik. Travis county (Austin, which is where I work) was 56% Kerry, 42% Bush, 2% Badnarik. I think that's why I was so hopeful - because of the community I work in.
Anyway, people are afraid, and that plays right into Bush's policies. People are afraid of all those OTHERS out there. So we have to teach people not to be afraid by not being afraid ourselves. Yeah, I sound like some crusader, but we need to be. We can't say "on to 2008." We have to live it everyday between now and then.
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard
The truth is, today I have to get through the grief process. But tomorrow . . .
S_____
At 8:51 AM -0600 11/3/04, P___ wrote: I have been doing a county by county analysis. What sinks home is not that we lost... but how divided this country really is on race and religion. You have counties that swing from 60/40 Bush to 60/40 Kerry in just a few miles..
Atlanta was really divided between Fulton and the rest. Jeff's state Oregon seemed the same. There is no hope for Oklahoma and Alabama.... they are really the big red states... Louisiana is traditionally New Orleans vs. the rest of the state but ironically Baton Rouge elected its first black mayor and Point Coupee, a rural parish went for Kerry by last count.
The catholics wee definitely influenced by the bishops and the so-called abortion issue.
While I hope for the best... I do have a valid passport and might just sell my house.
It is interesting that Kerry won his state by a greater margin than Bush won his state. Also, the big urban areas of Texas.... Dallas and Houston plus the border counties seemed to lean towards Kerry...
If you go to www.cnn.com, you get a good county by county breakdown. Where did your county come out?
P___
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