Bush has won, Kerry has lost. The graciousness of Senator Kerry’s speech — in comparison to the crass nature of Bush’s flunkies flaunting their victory before the official announcement — only makes the end result even more bittersweet.
Frankly, I don’t know what else to say. I do know that the world is going to be more dangerous, the American economy will continue to sink into a dismal abyss, and Canada will be put in a precarious position, sitting next to a hawkish administration, trapped in a schizophrenic mind-set of isolationism-via-imperialism.
The American psyche is now trapped in a state of constant fear. Vigilance against threats that might be around the corner, cautious against enemies that might be lurking out there, somewhere… It’s a nation marbled with terror, both exposed and hidden deep inside. It’s the type of fear that George W. Bush and his ilk breed, because they confuse being offensive with being ON the offensive. Every announcement of an orange alert, every sight of troops guarding Manhattan skyscrapers, every suicide bombing in the Middle East…it’s more proof to the ultra-Republicans that, to stay afloat in a big, scary world requires them to be ever bigger, even scarier, than those they purport to fight.
But fear breeds more fear. Violence begets violence. Cause and effect — not that subtle a concept, but apparently too subtle for Bushie Junior.
So now we watch and wait for what happens next. Take a deep breath, ladies and gentlemen…I predict the ride ahead to be very bumpy indeed.
