the monkey manifesto: adventure

I could bitch and moan and rant and rave... but that won't change anything.

I can't even begin to imagine how much our one-time allies will hate us in four years. How much of a laughingstock we are to the rest of the world. Here we are, the most powerful nation in the world, and we use our incredible freedom of expression to choose a leader that can't even correctly pronounce all of the words in his speeches. And, somewhere deep in my gut - like that twinge at the bottom of your throat a week before you succumb to strep - I have this terrible foreboding that something disastrous is going to occur in the next four years.

But I think the worst part of all of this is that I feel that Kerry just gave up. This concession... this acquiescence . Everyone was so relieved today:

Oh he did the right thing.

Oh thank god this won't divide the country.

It was smart of him to help unify the division and lend a congratulatory hand.

Brave? Unifying? No, to me, his concession was cowardly... which I find terribly disappointing. As if he couldn't take the stress of waiting the 11 days for Ohio's results. Ohio, Iowa, and New Mexico hadn't even turned in their official electoral counts. The Electoral Vote was 254 to 252...

It's simply disappointing.

It feels like the same thing Gore did four years ago, but four years ago Bush claimed victory, and gentleman Gore allowed him to take it... He conceded. Kerry didn't even wait for Bush to stake his claim. Kerry just quit. At least that's my perception of the events that transpired. Of course what do I know; I voted for Nader in 2000.

In the end, though, I'm still an American, and if anything, we're stalwart and resourceful. I can survive another four years, and maybe by then some people will realize a mistake may have been made... or not... that's the beauty and tragedy of living in this great and foolish country.

Our hindsight sucks.