A little more than half

I feel relieved more than anything. Relieved that Romney and his cronies won't have the chance to get elbow deep in our lady bits, relieved that gays are gaining ground in securing civil rights, relieved that anyone making less than a billion dollars a year won't necessarily be thrown under the bus, relieved that the leader more interested in green energy will be in charge. 

But I'm still perplexed and, frankly, really frustrated by almost half the voting nation. I simply cannot believe that people heard the things they did about Romney, heard the things that came out of his mouth, and still cast their ballots for him. Defunding Planned Parenthood? Drill, baby, drill? (Not to mention the dirty, nasty tar sands pipeline).The 47% comment?

I can see why folks like ridiculous Donald Trump wanted Romney. I just don't get how other smart, caring, middle-class parents, community members, and friends could think Romney would represent them, would be good for humanity and the earth.

Last night after the election results were announced, I watched Facebook comments roll in about how "disgusted" some people were, how they might as well hand over all their money to the government now. I saw photos of bumper stickers like these and read tweets like this. Now, I know not everyone who voted for Romney is a right wing extremist, but I'm sad. What's so wrong with giving unlucky people "a shot" at life? How can global warming be denied when there is actual science behind it?

And to people (especially women) worried about "too much government"... there's nothing more offensive than a government up in our fucking vaginas telling us what we can and can't do with them.(Believe me when I say that my opinion on abortion is very complicated and not entirely formed, but I do know I don't want some middle-aged man with a mouth full of crowns, head full of grecian formula, and mind full of absolutes to dictate anything having to do with women's reproductive systems.)

I hold no delusions that I'll sway anyone. People lean one way, decide they believe something, then seek out information corroborating their beliefs. It's human nature. I'm just a mom and part-time worker bee with a bachelor's degree in journalism. And yeah, I want to continue to live a comfortable existence. But I also want to reach out a hand to others and protect the planet we live on.

I'll get off my slippery soapbox now. This election has exhausted me and I didn't even do any canvassing.

For the next 3 years and 11 months you can find me reading celebrity gossip, writing reviews on Amazon, and trying to get shit published.

Comments

[Bev]

I too would love to see all the programs you mentioned continue to be funded and to grow as NEEDED. There is one simple fiscal fact that I want to share that informed much of my decision...when the time comes that our revenues can only cover the interest on our massive debt, not even China will continue to loan us money. Then, NO ONE will be comfortable.

Another fact is that Obama lied right to your face about his knowledge of Benghazi, an attack on America where Americans were killed, so how much of what he claims can you honestly believe?

As the campaign progressed I became increasingly confused about Obama's complete reliance on blaming George W Bush for all the failures of the last four years. We kept hearing him talk about George W Bush, saying that name over and over and over...why? Why didn't he instead explain why so little was accomplished in his first two years when he held the majority in both Houses?

There is no government money tree to pay for all the healthcare that all the people want; there are only tax revenues, and we can't even begin to balance a budget with our current levels of spending.

I worked in a Public Aid office in the early 1970s and already there were third and fourth generation recipients who had never worked and emphatically exercised their right to maintain that status. For the most part these were not unlucky people who needed "a shot" at life...that was their chosen career.

If they don't have the opportunities and comforts that you and I enjoy, your kids will never understand why "our fucking vaginas" were so important in 2012.

You wondered aloud, so I am simply sharing why some of us thought that Romney would be good for AMERICA! If we don't get our own house, AMERICA, back in order we will not be able to "be good for humanity and the earth" for much longer.

I continue to wish you good luck getting your work published. I have admired and envied your writing gifts for quite some time!

[All Adither]

Bev, thanks for your rebuttal. I disagree, but thank you. If I'm not mistaken, no one knows exactly what happened in Benghazi. It's not clear if it was a presidential oversight or a state department issue. The attack was horrible, but I blame the terrorists, not Obama. From what I read, I'm not convinced there was a cover-up, either.

Obama doesn't blame George W. ad nauseum. I think you're listening to too much conservative talk radio. And I also think that you're punishing the whole nation because of a few lazy-asses you encountered in the 70s. No, I don't want to support those people either. But I believe there are more deserving people in the country than there are "professional victims".

Furthermore, I don't understand this paragraph at all:

"If they don't have the opportunities and comforts that you and I enjoy, your kids will never understand why "our fucking vaginas" were so important in 2012.

What does that mean?

Getting our house in order is very important and I think Obama is the one to do it. At least more so than Romney. Being good stewards of the earth while trying to secure ourselves financially is crucial. Romney would have us drilling the planet into oblivion if he had his way. Yes, the economy is important, but not more so than life on earth.

[lb]

It was a crazy rush to see the results last night, while simultaneously watching comments fly on social media. I was shocked at some people's response, appalled at others, and not surprised when people from my hometown went ballistic.

I am mortified that my own mom and sister voted Romney. It makes me sad and scared that they can't see how he would be bad for us. They are entitled to their opinions, I just wish I didn't know.

I think we are heading the right direction. Looking forward to the future for my kids.

[V]

I am not a huge political person so I can not debate a lot of issues. But my experience in the service industry and talking to people and their lives is corporate America needs to step in and give those "lazy asses" a wage more then minimum wage . Take Walmart for example , they only hire part time people with no hope of full time ( I know someone who worked for Walmart for 12 years and this summer was let go 11 people were let go because they were full time.). They hire mostly retired and handicapped workers because we already give them benefits like social security which we pay for with our taxes and subsidizes their income . But the average guy can't live in part time minimum wage so they choose to live off the government because these companies want huge profits. So until these people are given a decent living wage we will be helping them. Also the generational families who live off the dole will do it. It has been that way for centuries ... Read some Charles Dickens ... The working poor are real . I hope that made sense.

[Leanne]

A little "less" than half of America are Bible-thumping Christians who vote according to GOD's law, not man's law. We believe that the individual is responsible for the hand out - not the government. Jesus helped the poor = it's OUR job to help the poor. Corporations and people alike. ie. Walmart isn't helping the poor (employees) anymore because of tax law. Many companies have halted pay increases (ours is one of them) because of tax law. Taking money from the rich isn't helping the poor, it's causing them to keep more of what they earn in creative ways.

Jesus would NEVER say "allow and condone your sisters to kill their unborn". LIFE. We vote LIFE. PRO LIFE. If you support pro-choice you may as well be performing the abortion yourself. You are lending a hand to the death of innocent babies and a collapse in our moral system to vote pro-choice. Tell me - how hypocritical it is for a person to say "don't slaughter or abandon puppies! These people should be punished!!" and turn around and say "oh honey, you're pregnant? Oh no! Just go have an abortion." It is 100% Hypocritical. Life is life. Pro-lifers believe that it's NOT up to the government to issue law with regard to killing the unborn. It is a STATE issue and it is a PHYSICIAN issue, but above all else, it is a MORAL issue. We do not force our morals on others - but also cannot in clear conscience support a candidate who does not respect life. Not to mention - PP is pretty much fully funded by corporations and donations - why are we using ANY taxpayer money to fund abortion? How could you, in good conscience, allow someone who supports life to finance death? And before you tell me they do other beneficial things - we know the percentages of locals who visit PP for abortions over standard screenings. Standard screenings are available across the street, for free.

Israel. Israel is our friend and ally and has been since this Nation was founded. In the past 4 years, we have not treated her as an ally. Biblically speaking, we are in a HEAP of trouble when we do not defend and protect our ally's, and this administration has not been there for Israel. Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed - and we are not doing our part.

The economy - obviously conservatives are also fiscally conservative, which is why many are so wealthy. "We" (collectively, because certainly not "I", "I" am among the least of these) know that you do not and CAN not spend your way out of a deficit. And that is exactly what has happened the last 4 years. You cannot be a world leader with our current financial status.

Now, we used to be a (majority) Christian nation. Meaning, we held the word of the Bible near and dear. We believe that people are good and encourage the good in people. I have seen the exact opposite growing wildly in our Country - one where people seem to think that a larger government could do a better job taking care of all the poor - while building a larger government more poor exist - and no one seems to be connecting these dots. Do they do some good? Sure. But we are getting lazier and lazier in saying "just here, take my money and you decide what's best" -- NO -- it's OUR job to pray and to serve and to help our neighbors. If we all did that, we wouldn't need or want this socialistic government to essentially take our place.

Now I say all of this not to belittle you your choice, but because I took the time to see why Obama supporters voted for him and I truly wanted to understand why. I respond only to try to help you glean some understanding about why so many Americans disagree. This is not the way we feel we should go about this. This causes our country to become less and less free - if I am making less because I now have to support more social programs, I am no longer able to help those I am in direct contact with here in my area. I have less to live on if I choose to help them = I become someone in need of social programs. This is a slippery slope, I'm on it, and I'm almost at the bottom. When we were once a military household making decent money and able to do for others, we are now making less than half, no retirement benefits from the military - no pension (our Veteran's get the shaft with this administration to top it off) -- I digress.

I do hope you are able to see it from another viewpoint as I do, because I DO understand that when it comes down to square 1 - each of us can agree that square 1 is "help others" - we just have completely different belief systems about how to make that happen.

[All Adither]

Leanne, thank you for your thoughtful response! You didn't address green energy or climate change, most Romney supports "forget" about this because it isn't a priority for them, but it should be.

I don't know a single person who would say, "Let's go have an abortion!" without a lot of thought and anguish. Supporting the choice is not the same as doing one myself. That's ridiculous.

Also, I don't believe in God, so there's that. Jesus, yes. God, no. I'm sure you think that makes me a horrible, lazy person who only wants to throw money at the government so they can take care of all the poor people, but you'd be wrong.

I do feel lucky that, in this country, we're free to debate the merits/demerits of each school of thought. In China, where I just was, they would be agog at such freedom.

[All Adither]

Here's an excellent blog post to help put things in perspective. Thank you, Leslie, for pointing this out.

http://joashline.com/2012/11/presidential-election-sad-and-tragic-day-for-our-nation.html

[Leanne]

I apologize, I didn't address it. But I suppose it doesn't matter since you can't manage to remain friends with someone you disagree with ?? That is not surprising.

I never thought you a horrible person.

Best in all you do - always thought highly of you, until you "unfriended" me for thinking differently - but that proves the extreme conservative view that liberals are only liberal when you agree with their school of thought.

Best of luck in all you do.

[All Adither]

Leanne, Sorry but it was the abortion comment that got me. Your telling me that if I'm pro-choice I might as well do an abortion myself is too absurd to ignore. Every time I would see your posts it'd make my heart sink. Goodbye.

[Kristy]

When businesses, whether huge or small, use Obama or any government program as an excuse to mistreat their employees, it is just that--an excuse. As long as businesses think even the tiniest increase in profit is worth any human expense, this country will continue to suffer. The working poor and middle class carry the rich FAR more than we carry the "lazy" poor. Any scientist can tell you that the true parasite is the one you don't see. In this case, it is the very small group of people who sit back and enjoy enormous wealth on the backs of workers.

As for Jesus and what he would or would not do, that can inform your life, but it can't decide our laws because we are not a theocracy. If living in a theocracy sounds good to you, check out the Taliban. Check out any country where to sin is to break the law. I am always confused by Christians who say that suffering exists because God gave us free will, but you would take it upon yourselves to take away that free will and replace it with what you perceive to be God's law. Which is based on, in most cases, the King James Bible which is a travesty of willful mistranslation. If your God saw fit to allow humans to make their own mistakes, why would you do otherwise and try to slap his name on it?