The election

Yes the election is over but I do have one more thing to say about it and two articles to link to it.

Yesterday, Sunday, my Pastor asked the congregation what we are thankful for. One person said he was thankful for the election, that we went through a "spirited" election cycle (if you read American history you will see this was not a dirty or vindictive campaign compared to the 1800's) and the election was peaceful. As I thought about that, I had to agree with him. We have just come through an election and there were not riots in the cities, people were not informed they or their family would be killed or imprisoned if they did not vote a certain way, the party that lost has not been rounded up and herded off to prison or the firing line and there are no creditable allegations of wide scale fraud.

Was the election perfect? Of course not. Some who were registered were not allowed to vote because their registration was lost or not processed properly. In a few cases this was done deliberately, in most it was due to human error. Some people claim they were intimidated from voting because poll monitors rolled their eyes or the voter might be asked to provide identification. In all honesty, those people need to grow up and read what intimidation is. Intimidation is where if you vote, you or your family will be harmed by others who don't want you to vote. Asking John Doe to produce a drivers license or an ID card or a voter registration card isn't too much to ask I personally think. After all we didn't have the Taliban threaten to kill all the women who voted or threaten to attack polling stations. We didn't have the rebels in El Salvador (1984) threaten to kill anyone who dared to vote in the country (over 80% of the people voted in that election inspite of the threats). And we didn't have employers or political operatives watching us AS WE VOTED to see who we voted for (see Austria in 1938 when the Nazi's had an "election to ratify the union between Germany and Austria).

So the election was a success, and even if your candidate didn't not win, Bush is still your President. Well, that is as long as your a US Citizen he is. One does not have to agree with the President and many can and will work against his plans, that is not only legal but is desirable in a democracy. A healthy debate will help us find the best answers to our questions and problems.