Time to divide for the common good

The historic 2004 election has come and gone. And after one of

the most bitter elections that further polarized a divided America,

it is time to find common ground.

George W. Bush has called on Americans, Democrats and elephants

alike to follow his lead as he promises to reach out to those who

voted for John Kerry.

Malarkey.

Non-Bushites need to stay divided. No compromise. Do not let go

of your disappointment. Do not follow George W. Bush’s lead during

his second term. Hold onto your anger. Let your disdain grow and

fester.

In 2000 Bush won his first election by a glitch in an archaic

system we call the Electoral College. Bush didn’t have a mandate

and didn’t win the support of most Americans – 543,895 more people

voted for Al Gore.

But that little fact didn’t stop Bush from shoving his agenda

down our evenly divided throats. His tax cuts benefited only his

constituency base: the frequently cited top 1 percent of income

earners. However, and despite the middle class not realizing the

benefits of the tax cuts, Bush somehow convinced his middle-class

sheep the cuts have helped us all.

Bush, spinsters and Republican think tanks have claimed the cuts

helped the middle class and even provided figures to create truth,

but an extra $300-$400 dollars is not going to help the middle

class when little things, such as health care, are more expensive

than ever. Once more, Bush’s economic policy has stifled job

growth, which is the most important element of middle-class

economics.

After having a unified America (and world) for a few months

after Sept. 11, 2001, Bush divided the country by starting a

sans-cerebral war in Iraq. Bush hastily waged a war using

cowboy-fueled testosterone rather than reason and logic that would

have helped him avoid some of the problems this war has presented,

and helped avoid the polarization to which the war is credited.

The gay marriage issue probably tilted the election to Bush’s

favor, as the fear of homosexuality mobilized the mass of social

busybodies. While Bush can’t carry the dishonorable distinction of

bringing this polarizing issue to the forefront – actually, we can

thank our district’s representative and author of the Federal

Marriage Amendment, Marilyn Musgrave – Bush used this division to

assist his reelection.

Time after time Bush has claimed he is a moderate, unifier or a

compassionate conservative, and time after time he has proved

himself a stubborn conservative willing to impose his policies on

us all – even in a highly divided political climate.

Bush only calls for unification to make his policies easier to

pass and more widely accepted. There is no compromise in his

message, only assimilation to his ideology. Bush doesn’t care about

compromising his policies to benefit the other 50 percent of

America any more than he is interested in legalizing gay marriage

so he can marry Saddam Hussein.

So be a roadblock. Resist Bush and the Republican machine with

every ounce of will in your body. We must stay true to ourselves

and fight for what is right because if we silently follow Bush’s

lead our needs will be forgotten just like they have been in the

past.

To Bush’s supporters our resistance sounds like whining or sour

grapes. Some call liberals, Democrats and Kerry supporters sore

losers. That language, and its ignorant premise, reduces what

happened Nov. 2 to nothing more than a football game. This election

wasn’t the Super Bowl and elections aren’t a team sport designed to

make winners. Nov. 2 is about an evenly divided country being

subjected to one-sided policy.

Don’t be silent. Resist. Defy.

Vince Adams is a graduate student studying English. His columns

run on Wednesdays in the Collegian.