One day after a scarily easy victory for The Incumbent, I am amongst the scores of disheartened Kerry supporters, but I refuse to set aside hope for my country. For all of us in the 49 percent Kerry half, it may not be so easy. The election has divided America into two distinct halves that are unable to understand each other. For those of on Kerry's side, it's difficult to understand what to do now, but the answer is not to move to Canada.
We cannot give up on our renewed sense of political energy even when faced with four more years of President Bush. There is hope in the groundswell of political activism in this country. Such a divisive presidency, has, ironically, brought many together to test America as a democracy.
60 percent of the country voted this Tuesday. And long before November, the masses began protesting in numbers unseen since the Vietnam war. The marches against the war in Iraq in 2002 brought hundreds of thousands to the streets. April's March for Women's Lives pulled over one million to Washington from around the country. And thanks to campaign finance loopholes, 527 organization-led voter mobilization efforts turned out thousands to directly or indirectly support their candidates. As a volunteer with EMILY's List's get out the vote operation, I personally knocked on at least 600 doors in Southern Florida. As a group, we mobilized and spoke to more than 48,000 voters in the region.
The thousands of citizens that have become politically active are not doing this merely because they hate Bush or want to wear controversial t-shirts. At the end of the day, every political participant has done their work because they love America. We protest because we care about our country, even if it may seem too late. It is never too late to protest a political injustice.
For this reason, this country's activism will not fade any time soon. Political activism is based on a sense of political justice, not what may be easiest or most immediately successful. We have strengthened our commitment to activism, and it will live on.
Under Bush's second term, the opportunities will undoubtedly present themselves. Wherever injustice may make it's mark, I am confident that the American public will continue to stand up for what's right.
We as a people have learned to exercise our First Amendment rights, and I doubt that more skullduggery by the Bush administration will go without the howls of protest we voiced in the first term.
In looking at four more years of struggle, the left should first mourn and then move forward. It's hard to recognize the America that has given the GOP a large grasp on the country and banned gay marriage in 11 states, but it is still our America. There is a party that stands for civil rights, civil liberties, and an improved standard of living for all, and that is the Democratic party.
On Nov. 3, it seems like the Democrats have been emasculated once and for all, but we can use these next four years to refocus our energies. Democrats can recapture our founding ideals and our Clintonian strength with some severe rethinking. I urge the Democrats to turn liberal back into a positive word, not a dirty one. To distinguish ourselves as a strong, viable option from the right.
The country has been hoodwinked by the right, and in the next four years, every one of the 55,557,584 Kerry voters should focus on exercising the political muscle we've found. Just don't give up on this country.
-Francesca Hansen is a junior international studies major.
