November 4, 2004 - 2:05 a.m.
Since Kerry conceded Wednesday morning, it's all I've been able to think about. I cannot hide that fact about myself -- I voted for the guy, I'm a Democrat, and I think Bush is bad.
But what I've been thinking about more than John Kerry's loss and George Bush's victory, is what this campaign season has done to all of us.
I have been known, from time to time, to go off on a liberal rant. I work in a newsroom, first of all, and one of my duties is guiding its editorial stances on issues, so I cannot help but be opinionated. Maybe because of where I grew up or who raised me or my life experiences or possibly even being dropped on my head at birth, I consider myself fairly liberal. So do most of my co-workers. So do most of my friends.
But not all of them.
I don't understand how Republicans can vote in support of some of the candidates and issues they support. I just don't. I'm not saying that to sound like a jerk, or to sound like I'm spitting up some leftist propaganda (which as editor in chief, I've been accused of no less than 30 times).
I'm saying it because I want to admit to all of you that I don't get it. I don't understand why we need a smaller government, why gay marriage is a threat or why President Bush should stay in office despite our massive deficit and difficult war.
My mistake, though, came in lumping all of those things together. I heard the words "Republican" or "Bush supporter" and instantly, my mind told me that they all thought alike. All of them were supporting Bush. All of them were opposed to gay marriage. All of them felt restricting the rights of the media is the only way to guarantee safety in this post-Sept. 11 world.
And that's not true. I didn't realize that the guy sitting near me at work might be a conservative, who agrees with me on some things and disagrees on others. Or that the woman in that one class might be, too. Or the dentist, or the guy I pass on the street when I'm ranting about Bush into my cell phone, or even close friends.
Some are social conservatives. Others are fiscal conservatives. A couple just voted for Bush because he's closer to their line of thinking, and they're not really sure with which party to identify.
I, and everyone else who has just watched our candidate and many important issues go down in flames, need to take a step back and separate the issues of the campaign from the character of the voter.
We need to tell ourselves that it's not all as bad as we're probably making it seem and that if this country has any hope at all of getting through what will be trying years ahead (I'm talking about beyond the Bush presidency, here), it's going to start with us.
It's going to start with people who voted in 2004, disagreed with each other, but got over it and just tried to work together for the sake of a common nation.
It's going to start in those of us who grow up and start working in fields that have influence on the thought process of others: journalism, education, medicine, etc.
It's going to start with patience, and with a few courageous people who can throw on a slicker, lean into the wind of the hurricane that is politics, and to step into the middle of a battle of words, punditry and analysis and firmly but gently say, "Stop."
I'm putting on my raincoat on. I hope you will, too.
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