mourning after

i've been noticing the mourning after reactions of people around the country, to the results of the 2004 Election. i have not felt the sadness or excitement. i'm surprised at the reactions. it is difficult to understand because at different times i have felt so neutral. it is interesting to me that many people become very emotional. i have expressed my frustration, but i feel like it is rooted in something quite different. i am taken aback by anger or resentment. i think i understand why some people have felt that george w. bush has destroyed the last four years. again that's why i poised the questions that i did. the war. abortion. gay marriage. healthcare. education. taxes. deficit. economy. foriegn relations.

the issue i care more about than any other is healthcare. isn't that interesting sense i work in an oncology and hematology, three doctor practice. i think my brother aaron was really concerned about the educational issues because he is a teacher.

aaron hung up on me last night on the telephone. he was excited in the midst of the evening but when the media showed george w. in the white house, all smiles and thumbs up, aaron became angry. he felt, as i do, that last night was the american peoples night. the candidates spent the last year campaigning, the white house view gave george the opportunity to gloat and campaign again. i started to think and converse with aaron about this further. i have always wanted to get at the root of aaron's feelings. one of the things he said was that many who hate bush are uninformed. it is a disservice to the democratic party. i want to understand why people who are knowledgeable dislike bush so much. a conclusion i have come up with is this idea of american supremacy. american supremacy plays itself out in our role in the war. it plays a role in foriegn policy. it plays a role in our economy. our job growth, educational purpose, and healthcare standards. it plays a role in how we raise our children, buy our homes and cars. american supremacy is a standard we uphold, it becomes how we view ourselves.

i think george's decision to wage war in iraq was driven by that standard. a standard that is made up of freedom for all, given to us by the "almighty." a standard that drives arrogance, pride, fear and ignorance on many different levels, depending on your demographic. it is a standard that drives capitalism and great wealth. i believe many americans disagreed with the war because they weren't sure of bush's intentions. they questioned the right we have to grant freedom to others. they questioned the sole responsibility we took in iraq without the aid of France and Germany. they questioned why we weren't engaging afghanistan in the war against terrorism.

if the government was unwilling to work with the UN to fight terrorism in iraq then i see how many people struggled with the thought of american supremacy. but i would like to compare the idea of american supremacy with the standard we live by. the reason we are able to have million dollar homes, million dollar cars, million dollar educations, and million dollar make overs is because of that standard. the idea that america has the best plastic surgeons, neighborhoods, schools, jobs, movies, fastfood, streets, homes, lawyers, doctors, hospitals or malls is because of that standard of american supremacy. whose complaining when they have cancer. i don't see people going to somalia to have transplants or radiation. i don't see people going to iraq with their suvs to get gas. i don't see people signing up to give half their savings to twelve year old pregnant acid burnt afghan females. i don't see people sending their children over to europe to get an education or a job. if people are worried about the outsourcing of jobs maybe they shouldn't be so picky about being a garbageman or streetsweeper. maybe people should want to figure out how to make better cellphones in this country. maybe women shouldn't be so concerned about working for the newest gucci bag or bermuda vacation, maybe they should be more concerned about who's teaching their children to talk. maybe we don't need the newest nike shoes or flatscreen televisions. the american people no longer want to work for anything. i see it everyday. people who want something for nothing. people who feel they deserve to own a home or car. people who feel they deserve to have money and families simultaneously. i think the fact of the matter is that all people deserve the best of what they can get.

the reason i started this thought process was because i heard terry gross last night with T.R. Reid . He has written a new book regarding the end of the american supremacy. when thinking about the president and john kerry i would compare their words against this idea. kerry really seems to want to have a global standard or peace that revolves around a community effort or nationwide effort. i think inorder to do this, people are going to have to lower their standards of living. the giving and service that is required of american people to bring peace in the rest of the world does not lie solely on the american troops. with supremacy there must also come humility. george w. on the other hand is resolved to uphold the american standard of living and at the same time bring peace to the rest of the world. regardless of what other countries want or what the american people are willing to give up inorder to do so. but you'll hear him encourage us to take responsibility for ourselves. for our own actions, for our own behavior. i believe that bush and kerry both want the same things. it's hard to be angry or hate either one. i find myself either hating both of them or feeling neutral towards both of them. i find myself favoring the libertarian party more frequently than not. because i want to be held accountable. i don't want to blame anyone for my life's failings. i don't want to be angry. i want to see peace in our country and other countries. i want to be responsible for that peace though. i don't want to give the government anymore control over my peace. i don't want to give the government anymore control over the freedom of other countries. if we are in a cultural divide, it is not because of bush or kerry. it is because americans do not want to be held accountable for their actions. that goes for the rich, poor, educated, uneducated, sick, or healthy. if we are in a cultural divide it is because of an absolute that many people want to uphold. if we are in a cultural divide it is because of the pluralistic society we live in. we are living in a "it's all good" society.

i have felt for many months that our country will indeed crumble, many americans feel the united states is much like the roman empire. i'm not exactly sure of that. aaron told me last night that he doesn't want to raise his children in the roman empire. i will encourage those of you who are displeased to move forward. kerry and bush have both encouraged us to move forward. i feel as though the only turn in our society will come from a spiritual revolution. i have strong religious beliefs that aren't predicting anything of the sort. but i feel the pressure mounting. i will give those of you mourning your loss time to recover, but what will you do after mourning?