Last night wasn’t just a victory for tolerance; it wasn’t just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.
What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.
And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was “shrill.”
Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, they’ve been banished to the wilderness.
End of the monster years.
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteMany people have come forward to speak to this incredible moment, but it is this wiping away of the filth, this scraping of scat from our boot heels, that is most important to me. Cheney, Bush, Rove and all their minions have besmirched our reputation worldwide.
Yet, in a miracle of democracy, we have, in one day, wiped the slate clean. Long before he is sworn in, long before he signs his first bill into law, the mere FACT of Barack Obama has changed the playing field around the world. We, you and me, have managed to help restore hope and faith in what is the best part of America.
Obama will be challenged like few Presidents before him, but, because of what I see as a reasonable human being and a savvy politician, I have great hope that he...and we...will succeed in righting the ship of state.
Damn this feels good!
Clyde
John K: Tolerance? I was thinking with mob rule coming that Market Square was a good location for the guilotine. But with the mob much more easily organized around the Univ of Pittsburgh somewhere in Oakland might be better. Of course there is the transportation problem but buses run on a regular basis to Oakland. Your thoughts? It will be so cool watching you left wingers lob off heads. Especially when the person will be yelling that they voted for Obama. LOL
ReplyDeletesorry, but the only people calling for assassinations are those racist thugs who comment on fox blogs.
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