Nervous About the Vote Today

I can't stand it. I am so nervous for Barack Obama. I really want him to win in Texas and Ohio and Rhode Island and Vermont. I want Hillary to stop all of the scare mongering too--who would you want to answer the phone at the White House at 3:00 in the morning? Ick. Way to appeal to people's better selves. Way to take the high road. Desperate?

In the greenroom at my son's play that I mentioned the other day, I overheard three dads talking to one another. One said to another, "How's your man Obama doing?" I overheard and thought, Fantastic! More Obama supporters--what fun! No. They were not. I just stood there eavesdropping on their conversation taking place 5 feet away from me--I didn't have to strain too hard and didn't feel bad about doing it either, until I realized the magnitude of their contempt for Obama, their ignorance in general and their love of Rush Limbaugh! It was like they were from a different planet...or I was. I couldn't believe the lies that they believed. And they didn't just half heartedly believe these falsehoods, they believed them with energy and vigor.

They think that Obama is Muslim, which he is not. My son has responded to that idea previously by saying, "So what if he was?! What does it matter?!" Out of the mouths of babes. They know that Obama is pro choice, but then they went on to defend Bush and his policies. Here's a question: how many men, women and children have been killed in Iraq by his misguided war policy? Do the number of abortions even reach that? Are those Iraqi deaths OK somehow? Are those people not God's children by their own beliefs? Isn't one of Jesus' monikers the King of Peace? What am I missing here?! Are Bush's abstinence only programs helping poor people around the world, or are there all sorts of STDs and more births in abject poverty. Is a full quiver really a good thing in that situation? Wouldn't condoms and myth busting about the spread of AIDS and respect for the culture and the mores be more helpful in this situation?

I couldn't believe the stuff that they were spewing. Just offhand comments to one another, said as if absolute truth that they got from their man Limbaugh. I still can't believe it. The ignorance was astounding to me. The fact that they feel they are devout Christians and then they listen religiously to a hate monger--really, it boggles my mind. I guess hate is OK if it's directed at gay people, or Jews, or Muslims or foreigners or atheists (sorry overseas visitors--God help you if you happen to be a Gay, Jewish overseas visitor from Belgium or somewhere, or even worse FRANCE!!!).

More of us in this country believe in the principles of this country than those who do not. We believe in freedom of religion--believe whatever you want. We believe in freedom of speech, and right to free assembly and freedom of the press. We believe in the pursuit of happiness. We believe in our right to our own lives making decisions for our bodies and our families. This is the land of the free, which means we have the right to disagree. We have the right to dissent. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." Patriotism requires people standing up and saying NO! No to 100 years in Iraq. No to tax breaks for the rich. No to pollution and disregard for world treaties trying to limit damage to the earth. No to erosion of our personal liberties. No to allowing the government to take our phone records or to tap our phones or to arrest us without charge or right to counsel. No to torture.

No, no, no, no, no! No.

Take that you ditto heads--you yes sayers, you Limbaugh fans. Want to go to war? Yes! Want to unlawfully tap people's phones? Yes! Want to torture people held without charge? Yes! Yes to whatever Limbaugh says. Ditto, ditto, ditto.

NO! A lot of us are saying no. No more war. No more pollution. No more torture.

Go Obama! A lot of us are voting for you because we know we can say no. We know that you have stood up and said No! And because of that, we know that, Yes We Can.