How do you feel about the election? (At the preceding hyperlink, click on Feelings.) Okay, now go hug somebody. Don't you feel better?
Seriously, unless somebody like a Hitler won an election, I see no reason to be depressed, irrespective of one's politics or what the results may show about the electorate's moods or resolve.
Life goes on, as does one's ability to express one's opinion. There have been many times through the years when I have questioned the judgment of the American people in their voting. But one thing that being a student of history has shown me is how often US voters seem to have gotten it right.
I frankly believe that President Bush feels a certain sense of liberation as a result of Tuesday's vote, though I also agree with blogger Deborah White, that losing the Senate was less liberating for Mr. Bush than losing the House.
But, no matter your views, in America, where the transfer of power is peaceful and minority opinions can become majority opinions, I see no reason for being depressed over the results of an election.
I wasn't depressed even when I lost a primary election two years ago:
Clermont County Ohio
Primary Election '04
3/2/04
Rep - State Representative 66th Dist., Vote For: 1
Joseph Uecker 40.26%
Don Donohoo Sr 22.42%
Carl Dorsch 20.27%
Mark Daniels 12.90%
Jeffrey A. Hardin 4.15%
2 comments:
Mark,
In fairness to Ann, her disappointment is not over losing a political battle, but as she says,
the failure of Americans to support the war. It's the folding and crumpling because things didn't go well enough and the way we conspicuously displayed that to our enemies. They're going to use that information.
I can respect that. I agree that it's unhealthy to put too much investment in politics. But there are issues worht caring about and grieving over.
I myself am struggling with severe disappointment over the narrow victory of the embryonic stem cell amendment here in Missouri. And I anticipate being futher dejected if (as appears likely) the Supreme Court again strikes down a ban on infanticide.
It doesn't bother me much that the Republicans lost Congress. Issues related to protecting innocent human life concern me greatly.
Jeff:
I understood her point. But I think that it was, unintentionally, unfair to those who, by their votes, felt that they were the ones protecting innocent life. No matter how people voted, I suspect they felt this was one of their primary motivations.
How best to do this will be more intensely debated, perhaps, although I think that in the case of Iraq, President Bush decided to begin a withdrawal some weeks ago. There were little indications of that, including his recent parsing of the phrase, "stay the course," legitimate but heretofore unnecessary.
Mark
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