Weighing My Vote

We are a nation at war with an enemy that hides amidst innocents, an enemy that hates the very things we love most: freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

Undoubtedly, the war on terror and national security are not the only issues that Americans face. We are slowly digging ourselves out of an economic downturn with more Americans than ever gambling each day without access to affordable healthcare.

The national deficit has ballooned to astronomical proportions and the President is digging deeper for more money to fund a war that a large percentage of Americans opposed, which as it turns out, was waged, based on erroneous information.

Oh, do we have issues and none are easily solved or decided.

We have a President on a mission, a mission to persuade ¼ of the world’s population that we are their friends and that our way of life is ultimately THE way of life. A President who has chosen the sword over the handshake, the bomb over the sanctions, the shock and awe over peer pressure – and to some degree his method is working. But the long term effects of that method are unknown to us. Fifty years from now will the Muslim world feel about us the way say, the Japanese do after we bombed them into submission?

I am a torn soul. I don’t want to cast a vote that has not been fully thought out, scrutinized, researched and then ultimately mulled over. We have a responsibility not just to ourselves as Americans to choose the best individual to govern and lead our nation – not just any nation – but THE nation of all nations. We also have a responsibility to the world as a whole.

President Bush was not the man I voted for in 2000. He was not the individual whom I felt was the best candidate for the job, I wasn’t even sure he won fair and square, but once that decision was made, then it was made.

Then September 11 happened, and as clichéd as it may be, everything changed. We were no longer our own little island of decadence and freedom, but rather we were thrust into a world of chaos, fear and paranoia. Honestly, 9/11 was bound to happen at some point in some fashion, it just sucks that we were so unprepared.

At that point, President Bush became our leader, my leader. He stood up, slammed his fist on the table of justice and said “That is it Motherfuckers, now you have pissed off the wrong damn people.” And dammit, that was EXACTLY the right attitude. Our international policies be damned, our American cowboy arrogance aside, what those 19 terrorists shits did that day was just plain RUDE.

Ahem, fast forward to now and we must ask ourselves, “Just how far do we go to make a point?”

My husband says that while he does not share the fundamental ideology and basic values, beliefs and views with George Bush, he does respect and support his commitment to ridding the world of those who wish to crush our spirit, and reduce Americans to quivering wusses.

It’s hard to challenge that when you think about it. Come hell or high water, President Bush has stayed true to his mission, he has not been deterred by polls, international pressure and the ultimate price of perhaps losing reelection for taking on the unenviable task of ridding the world of the most virulent of scum.

Here is my bone to pick with not just casting my vote for Bush – as I do so wish to rid the world of every anti-American, terror-loving, freedom squashing, innocent-killing Islamofacist pig – why can’t Kerry get the job done and also pay attention to the domestic issues that are looming on the horizon?

Bush has turned back the clock on the environment, social issues, public policy, socio-economic development and the basic well being of all but the wealthiest Americans

Kerry and Bush aren’t so different, but while Bush plays the distraction game with the war on terror he is pushing a conservative agenda that it may take decades to undue.

Bush HAS removed hope from America and I can’t in good conscience not explore the long term affects of his carcinogenic presence in things other that global terror. Can any of us?