Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

December 20, 2000


At this writing we are merely six weeks removed from Election Day 2000, yet that 
Tuesday seems so long ago. Considering the flurry of events following November 
7, I suspect that for most citizens the present is a time for further processing 
and interpretation of these historically tragic weeks. The election itself is 
over, and the United States has a name and a face to associate with the title 
"President".

I remember an incident from my childhood. I was fourteen years old at the time, 
and travelling in the back seat of the family car on Interstate 95 in South 
Florida (ironically). The traffic slowed up, and I looked out of the window to 
see the incredible sight of a vehicle turned upside-down off the side of the 
highway.  Inside the vehicle, four terrified passengers sat stunned, while the 
engine was still running. My stepfather quickly pulled over and ran to the 
overturned car to shut off the engine. He said that there was danger of the car 
exploding if the engine continued to run. Someone else called the police and 
soon we heard sirens. We left the scene of the accident, and by the time we 
reached the next exit I had the unsettling sensation that what I had just 
witnessed had not really happened. Or had it?

I have a similar sensation now as I think about the recent election. Did it 
really happen? How could so many votes be discounted? How could the U.S. Supreme 
Court allow itself to act in such a blatantly partisan manner?

What we have just witnessed is tragic. The implications for the future of our 
country are extremely troubling. For the first time in U.S. history, the Supreme 
Court has named a President to office. The democratic process, albeit flawed, 
has been degraded and summarily discarded. The concept of one citizen's vote 
being valued has been destroyed. And the voting process has been revealed to be 
racist, as long suspected.

Where is the outrage? Where is the cry for justice? I know where it is not, and 
that is within the venue of major media. Instead of outrage and a passionate 
search for truth, we are being fed the Pablum of the masses by means of 
sickening and hypocritical calls to "move on" for the sake of "unity" and 
"healing".  In typical American society fashion, media urges us to just forget 
about it..to "support our President" and celebrate a "new beginning". America 
has long suffered a tragic case of historical amnesia.

This is not a" time to heal." This is a time to assess the damage. A President 
has been placed in office, not elected. A slick politically racist conspiracy 
has discounted thousands of votes. I do not and will not recognize George W. 
Bush as President. What amazes me further is how far he got before the Supreme 
Court dragged this bumbling imposter across the finish line.

Please do not allow the media/entertainment industry to create any more 
illusions regarding G.W. Bush. This is an individual who possesses even less 
vision than his father, if that is even possible. This is a person born into 
privilege, beholden to corporate oil, incapable of relating to people struggling 
or marginalized by economic and social status. We need to reclaim our country. 
An election was stolen. Let's cut our losses by waking up, and at all costs 
avoid the passivity of "moving on".