Kerry Supporters — Out But NOT Down

11/03/04

Here We Go Again

You probably remember that old adage — Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Well, today is the first day of the second reign of George W. Bush. OK, that doesn't technically begin until the inauguration in January, but why be technical at this point?

I, for one, did not vote for him. I, for one, find him distasteful, at best — an incompetent, war-mongering, imbecilic religious ideologue at worst. During the campaign, I wore a button that says:

Like a rock — only dumber.
Not the most eloquent or intellectual observation, I know, but it captured my feelings in 5 small words.

Question From a Friend

Today I received an e-mail from a wonderful friend, asking my opinion on the election results:

Laura -

How are you about the election? M (a mutual friend) reported much crying and wanting to move to another country!

It is amazing to me that the Republicans kicked ass basically. Guess the population is fear based and naive....

* * *
In line yesterday at the polling place my line partners were bitching up a storm about having to wait, poor planning, etc. I was mostly positive, but did get into some grumbling. But....the man in front of me turned and said, "Hey, at least we have the privilege of being able to stand here and vote." I said...."Thanks for that reframe." That at least was true.

Today I woke up feeling like shit. Standing for 3 hrs with a bunch of republicans probably sucked my energy. The collective consciousness is in the toilet right now and the democrats let the GOP become the party of values/morals. That's a joke when you look at W's lying and scheming to get us into Iraq, but the sheep need their shepherd.

T

My Response to the Question

Hey, T —

Well, to begin to answer your question...

I saw a 'W' bumper sticker on a big white truck at ASU Downtown today and was surprised by my very genuine desire to key their car. Self-control won out...until I got in my car and heard George's victory speech. He urges all of those who voted for his opponent to unite with him — he's going to work to gain our support. Yeah — if he had my support, I wouldn't have voted against him or feel such bile in my throat to hear him smirk about winning.

So how am I? Well, I kept praying all night for the next right thing to occur. I share your view that we live among a naive, fear-based population — but I always have to go back to my belief that all things are exactly as they're supposed to be. Everything is perfect in this moment. Good things did come out of this election: the HUGE mobilization of voters — and the awareness campaign that got many of them to the polls in the first place.

Today I heard the reason Kerry failed to carry the Midwest, in spite of all the lost jobs there, came down to morals and family values. T, I think you're the one who told me about the huge national shift back(wards) to strident fundamentalism. I guess in this out-of-control world, it's easier to believe in a God of Fear than it is to take personal responsibility for our decisions and their results in our lives. And it's that very thing that would seem to be the reason George won.

I talked with [another friend] yesterday and tried to explain to him that my biggest problem with Republicans is their seemingly incredibly narrow view of the world. The intolerance is mind-boggling at times — and that is the thing I fear most about 4 more years under this president. How can people not get that???

J [another friend] told me yesterday that if Bush won, she was moving back to Spain. I haven't tracked her down yet — but I know she was only partly tongue in cheek as she said that.

But rather than moving out of the country, perhaps — and this is a big PERHAPS — those of us who failed to remove Bush from office are being called upon to use this time to wage personal campaigns for change. You and I and all the other visionaries we know must unite in our desire to change hearts — but the only way we're going to change them is one person at a time.

Laura

My Feelings on Bush & Supporters

So why did Bush win?? I know — that's the $1,000,000 question.

From the 11/3/04 David Letterman Show:

Top Ten Excuses for John Kerry's Loss:

#2 Voters seem to really like a weak economy and a badly run war.
Letterman also had a guy on the street "polling" people about the election. One of the questions was: "Do you think you're smarter than George W. Bush?" One after another, the answers were, "Yes," "Of course," "Absolutely," "Hands down," and the like — with the exception of the last guy (wearing a Mets hat), who said, "Uh, no."

Tonight I heard one of the talking heads say it came down to gays, God, and guns. I think this may be true. In the face of uncertain times, a surprising number (to me) of people in our country seem to be reverting to an intolerant, conservative, narrow perspective that follows the Fear of God/God of Fear doctrine. And George W's handlers undoubtedly knew what they were doing, in pandering to that fear.

What we must remember are the immortal words of one of America's most popular (Democrat) presidents: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. FDR had it right — but, as a nation, we largely seem to have forgotten that message.

Rather than take personal responsibility for our own fates, it's easier to turn to government and religion to explain the ills of the world — and to save us. Not that belief in God is a bad thing, in and of itself. (I still go to Mass on most Sundays!) But when we wage war on freedom, democracy, and other countries in the name of God — lying to create support — that belief system becomes enormously destructive. If the good of the entirety of the American people, as opposed to a select few, is not at the seat of all decisions regarding our country, then something is amiss.

Just so you know where I stand, my personal issues of concern are:

> The war — and our foreign (i.e., oil) policy in general
> Gun zealots
> Gay marriage amendment
> Increasing unemployment due to the continued overseas outsourcing of American jobs
> Tax credits for the richest of the rich and the increasing decimation of the middle class
> Erosion of civil rights in the name of security

I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that come immediately to mind.

An Idea Emerges

So as I was answering my friend's e-mail question, a couple of thoughts came to me...

T, M, J, and I can't be the only ones who feel this way!

But what can we do???

Those of us who feel like our voices were not heard in this election should UNITE to figure out a realistic plan for what our next right step is. Maybe if we mobilize now, we can figure out how to make a difference in spite of the outcome of this election.

I'm talking about a form of networking, but it's different from business networking because in this case, I mean AWARENESS networking.

My Challenge to You

Do you still feel like you have the power to make a difference? Then I challenge you to help me get a group together to begin to map out a strategy, a plan for the future.

Sure, there will be some bitching and venting — but if we worked at it, we could stem that and catalyze our frustration and anger into useful action!!!

What Will This Look Like?

Obviously, since this is still theoretical, I'm not sure what it will look like yet. What I do envision are meetings where we discuss ways to create conversations in everyday life that will help change the status quo by challenging people to make a difference. I envision specific brainstorming and strategy sessions, where we toss around ideas for ways to further unify and coalesce people to make their voices heard.

I'm not sure what we'll call the group — or, organizationally speaking, what exactly it will be.

I see it having the components of:

- a think tank
- a visionary action group
- a consortium for change
- an awareness mastermind group

If it sounds amorphous at this time, that's OK — it is. We will define it as we go along. The first key to brainstorming is that there are no wrong ideas. No thought is too far-fetched.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
— Goethe
This is our mantra!

How Does It Work?

In order for this to work, we must first understand that every one of us who chooses to particpate will be coming from a slightly different perspective. In fact, politically speaking, the only singularly uniting factor for all of us, of which I am absolutely certain, is that we all really, really, really wanted to see Bush ousted from office.

Yet, there may be liberal Republicans among us, conservative Democrats, Independents...and we each will bring to the table our own personal ideologies. That will not be a problem as long as we agree in advance that we are united in our mission:

(1) to create a new awareness of our own power to change the world;

(2) that personal responsibility trumps fear every time;

(3) that faith and truth still reign supreme;

(4) that we maintain a non-judgmental approach toward those whose minds we seek to open and/or change.

Are You With Me?

Please know, I am really serious about this. I haven't figured out the logistics yet — first I need to know how many people would be interested in forming a group like this. How many other people do you know who might be interested?

It's my very strong opinion that if we're going to do this, we must move quickly and start while we still have the energy of anger, frustration, and movement to motivate us.

If you are interested — and if you have ideas or suggestions for how this would work, please e-mail me at laura@1001reallifequestions.com.

If You're Somewhere Other Than Arizona

To those of you who happen to live in places other than the metro-Phoenix area, the challenge is the same:

Galvanize the people you know who share your beliefs. Form your own action groups to figure out how to take specific steps to make a difference in our country.

Know this: we voted our consciences. But just because George W. Bush and Company still occupy the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avneue does not mean we are disempowered or disenfanchised. We have a big job to do. Please join with me in doing it!

Laura

Message from John Kerry

If by some chance you missed it, here is a gracious message from the man who should have won this contest. It absolutely reinforces my vote for him!


Dear [Supporter],

Earlier today I spoke to President Bush, and offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation, and we talked about the danger of division in our country and the need, the desperate need, for unity for finding the common ground, coming together. Today, I hope that we can begin the healing.

In America, it is vital that every vote counts, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process. I would not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail. But it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted, which they will be, there won't be enough outstanding votes for our campaign to be able to win Ohio. And therefore, we cannot win this election.

It was a privilege and a gift to spend two years traveling this country, coming to know so many of you. I wish I could just wrap you in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

To all of you, my volunteers and online supporters, all across this country who gave so much of themselves, thank you. Thanks to William Field, a six-year-old who collected $680, a quarter and a dollar at a time selling bracelets during the summer to help change America. Thanks to Michael Benson from Florida who I spied in a rope line holding a container of money. It turned out he raided his piggy bank and wanted to contribute. And thanks to Alana Wexler, who at 11 years old and started Kids for Kerry.

I thank all of you, who took time to travel, time off from work, and their own vacation time to work in states far and wide. You braved the hot days of summer and the cold days of the fall and the winter to knock on doors because you were determined to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans. You worked your hearts out, and I say, don't lose faith. What you did made a difference, and building on itself, we will go on to make a difference another day. I promise you, that time will come — the election will come when your work and your ballots will change the world, and it's worth fighting for.

I'm proud of what we stood for in this campaign, and of what we accomplished. When we began, no one thought it was possible to even make this a close race, but we stood for real change, change that would make a real difference in the life of our nation, the lives of our families, and we defined that choice to America. I'll never forget the wonderful people who came to our rallies, who stood in our rope lines, who put their hopes in our hands, who invested in each and every one of us. I saw in them the truth that America is not only great, but it is good.

So here — with a grateful heart, I leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater meaning to me now that I've come to know our vast country so much better and that prayer is very simple: God bless America.

Thank you,