Don't slash up!

Dear Friends,

Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in the words of Monty Python, "always look on the bright side of life!" There is some good news from the USA presidential election. Here are 10 reasons not to slit your wrists:

1--It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.

2--Bush's victory was the narrowest win for a sitting president since 1916.

3--In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the country is headed in the wrong direction (56 percent), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51 percent), and don't approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52 percent). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)

4--Eighty-eight percent of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.

5--Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed, cannot get married in 11 new states. Phewww ... Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't have to buy now.

6--Bush is now a lame duck president. It's all downhill for him from here on out--and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in grade 12--you've already made it, so it's party time!

7--Should Bush decide to show up to work, it is also just as likely that either of the following two scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and arrogant--and thus, reckless--that he will commit a blunder of such major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from office.

8--There are nearly 200 million Americans of voting age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide--it means we're almost there. If you had 58 yards to go before you reached the goal line and then you barrelled down 55 of those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go home crying--especially when you get to start the next down on the three yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope!

9--Kerry won the youth vote in a landslide, getting a full ten points more than Bush (Kerry: 54 percent, Bush: 44 percent). Their turnout was historic and record-setting. And few in the media are willing to report this fact. It was the first time that a majority of all young adults came out to the polls: 51.6 percent.

10--These kids aren't going away. They have a resilience that cannot be snuffed out by older people's whining and moaning about the state of America. THEIR America has yet to be formed as they see it, and this one setback is not going to stop them.

Witness the students at Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado two days after the election. These kids can't even vote yet but that was not going to get in their way of expressing their outrage over what we adults had just done. The high school students took over the school by staging a sit-in and would not leave the building. They stayed there all Thursday night. They told the media that they were protesting the election results and putting Bush on notice that there was no way they were going to allow the draft to come back. It was the most uplifting moment of the week.

Feeling better? I hope so.

Yours, Michael Moore

(excerpt from a letter that can be found on his website at www.michaelmoore.com. His movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, might have played a significant role in the election ... just not quite enough)

COPYRIGHT 2004 Briarpatch, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group