I'm trying to think of something I liked about the election. The most important outcome of this election was the attention. People can say all they want about the media, but I know through my travels that a free and open press, albeit not without bias, is the key link between the governor and the governd. I hope this election has brought attention to how important our decisions are. I'm not naive enough to believe the power is in our hands. Throughout a lifetime, people feel like they've lost control of their own destiny. But a vote equals a voice, and from what the people have said, this nation is fractured.
I have my own opinions on how the nation must progress, but I think its more important we realize a vote is an expression on how the voter feels the nation should move towards. Unfortunately, the court has taken over the reins and artificially landed this country at a decision.
For many reasons, I remain skeptical a Bush administration will do this nation any good. Personally, I find his social policies regressive, not progressive, restricting individual freedoms of expression and simple matters of choice. Issues like gay rights and affirmative action have been pushed over by the public and the courts. The death penalty, an issue that strikes close to home in Texas where institutionalized murder is practiced. I'd like to ask Gov. Bush how the state can take away what it has not granted. A life is not the property of the state, and it should not have a role in determining its fate. Regardless of the studies showing capital punishment ineffective at preventing crime, the outdated and barbaric act of state sponsored death is sick.
Gov. Bush will have to do a lot of convincing, to me at least. What he has proven in his 6 years of public service is that with money and prestige, an undeserved degree from Yale, you can become the leader of the free world. |
