My post-election article for the school newspaper (PLEASE COMMENT)

[mark414]

So What Now?

I’m speechless.

After presiding over two of the greatest intelligence failures in world history (9/11 and the War in Iraq), a net loss of jobs, a record deficit, the rising cost of health care and education, tax cuts for the wealthy, and a thousand other reasons that I could spend all day on, the American people decided that out of all of these, only one reason mattered:

“Moral values.”

And that’s what killed John Kerry. Despite the fact that he and Bush believed the same thing about gay marriage (that is, they didn’t believe in it), the voters decided that Bush hated gay people more, so he was the better man for the job.

Now don’t get me wrong. Moral values are important. My parents raised me with strong morals, which I do my best to be faithful to. They taught me that lying is wrong, and that I should always be truthful because honesty is a virtue. They taught me to be humble. And most importantly, they taught me that I’m no better than anyone else, that we’re all in this world together and whether you’re stuck at the bottom rung of the ladder or resting comfortably at the top, we all have worth and value and it’s wrong to deny anyone their right to dignity. Strong moral values are a good thing. Unfortunately for the American people, this administration has neither morals nor values.

There’s nothing moral about killing over 100,000 Iraqi civilians. There’s no value in pushing for tax cuts that give the greatest relief to those that need it the least. And like I said above, I could spend all day on this, going through each and every misstep of this administration and make a damn strong case that what we have here is nothing more than a wolf pack in sheep’s clothing.

But that is neither here nor there anymore, as the American people have spoken and delivered George “I’m Anointed By God” Bush to another four-year term in office. And what surprises me most is how calm I am. I expected to be furious, but then again I didn’t expect this to happen in the first place. Instead I find myself with a overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I’m disappointed in America. I thought we were smarter than this. I thought we’d see through the lies and the distortions and open our eyes and deny Bush a second term. By any logical standard it should’ve happened. But no, the American people decided that gay people getting married is the number one threat to the State of the Union. And we’ll get what we deserve.

Thomas Jefferson once said that, “a democracy isnothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” That’s where we’re at. We’re a country hijacked by the Radical Right and we’ve resorted to voting against ourselves, our children, our future, and the world because of issues that became issues only because the faux-Christians in charge knew it would win them votes.

But don’t worry America, because all is not lost. We still have each other. We still have hope and passion and hard work and if we just keep on going the way we were before this election we can save our country. Now is not the time to let the momentum die, to sit down and quit and shove our hands in our pockets and stare at the ground and mumble to ourselves. This is not the America we know and love, so why should we give up?

In ‘Tangled Up In Blue,’ Bob Dylan wrote that, “the only thing I knew how to do was keep on keepin’ on.”

That’s the best we can do.

Keep on keepin’ on.

[mark414]

1. kick...comments much appreciated

please help out!

[mark414]

2. another kick, help me out please

[Dudley_DUright]

3. Mark me down as still furious, Mark

but a very strong essay nonetheless.

[mark414]

10. thanks n/t

[MI Cherie]

4. Hijacked by the Radical Right

Keep it Simple. Edit freely with a red pen! Shorter sentences and less paragraphs. Tighten it up.

While your "rant" is heartfelt and says what many of us feel, most people will rarely read anything that long.

Do a spell and grammar check and look at your "readability statistics." Get down to less than 200-300 words.

One of your strongest points is buried: "We’re a country hijacked by the Radical Right and we’ve resorted to voting against ourselves, our children, our future, and the world."

[mark414]

11. thanks for the tips

will take them into account

[LiberteToujours]

5. Very well written

Is this for high school or a college newspaper?

[mark414]

9. college, university of wisconsin-milwaukee

thanks for the compliment

[5thGenDemocrat]

6. Former college newspaper editor here

I suspect it's an editorial rather than an article, but I like your short sentences at the beginning and end and that you expressed what you were saying clearly.
Critique: You first say we've been hijacked by the Radical Right, and then say don't worry America because all is not lost. Who is "we," exactly? "We" isn't the Radical Right -- except, in the case of America, when it is.
Enjoy your time on the paper and, whatever you do, DON'T major in journalism. The daily paper I worked at for several years preferred that their scribblers took degrees in ostensibly related fields -- sports management, animal husbandry, Canadian Literature -- anything but journalism.
Anyhow, best regards and good job.
John
PS -- I do hope that your paper is running an opinion from a Republican, too -- yes? Opposing viewpoints, fairness and the free exchange of ideas are very important until you turn professional at this gig. Then you just parrot whatever the publisher wants you to say and grab free lunch wherever you can.

[mark414]

8. yes on the editorial

and i'm definitely not planning on majoring in journalism...i'm picking history actually

and yes, the paper is very fair when it comes to the editorials, etc.

the editorial director is a strong bushie but the editor in chief is a diehard liberal. they keep each other in check.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. That was excellent! Articulate and smart, you are a very good

writer who knows how to deliver the punch. I am a writer, but I wrote about television, so what do I know?:D

[mark414]

12. ha

thanks