As usual, a reprint of a post I made elsewhre on the site that I feel should be reprinted in my own journal:
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Get a grip. Lay off the hyperbole. You all are acting like this is the worst event this country has ever had to endure. You're victims of the "I must have everything I want RIGHT NOW and no one else with the tiniest shred of brain could possibly disagree with me' syndrome. How conceited can you get? Both sides are guilty.
The vast majority of the subscriber base of this site is under 30 years of age. I'd wager that the greater part of that number is even under 25 years. I'm an ancient 31, which only means that the earliest presidential election I was eligible to vote in was Clinton in 1992. High stakes, that one. Clinton 1996. Another winner-take-all pivot point in human history. Bush 2000. Whoop. Bush 2004. An election with an actual perceptible bottom line, though still far from the greatest electoral crisis this nation has faced.
This is the first presidential election that those of you as advanced in years, as 22 have been eligible to participate in. Your youthful fervor and lack of life experience has naturally lead you to believe that these times are as bad as it can get; that the outcome of this election will determine the course of your entire life. Your own great-grandparents, still alive today in vast numbers, can tell you about real hard times, circa the Great Depression and World War II, their children and grandchildren during the Korean and Viet Names wars of the 1950's and 1960's. The war in Viet Nam saw one president (Kennedy) assassinated, his vice-president successor (Johnson) declines his party's nomination for a second elected term, and his successor (Nixon) resign under threat of impeachment. These things occurred during a protracted conflict with American involvement from 1961 to 1975 and American casualties of 58,226 killed in action or classified as missing in action. There have been darker days.
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And you want to quit over one election.
.
And flee the country over one election.
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Well I say to you that you demonstrate the very heart and soul of a dedicated activist! Yes, when at first you don't get your way, immediately quit and renounce your citizenship. Just like the original American patriots who longed to shuffle loose the coil of England's King George in 1776. Just like the emancipationists who achieved the abolition of slavery during the American Civil War. Just like the Suffragettes who secured the right of women's vote in 1920. Just like the civil rights activists who, in a most inspiring show of steadfastness in the face of insurmountable odds, added the voices of non-white human beings to the rolls of the United States electorate in the 1950's and 1960's. These stalwart pioneer's lesson is clear: if at first you don't succeed, throw a screaming tantrum and give up.
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Cower then. Shiver and flee in the face of greater odds. You shame the mantle of strength and perseverance lovingly handed down to you by all those men and women who toiled before you, shed blood, sweat, and tears before you, and claimed victory for you to advance the hopeless causes that set fire to their souls.
.
So do it.
.
Just give up.
.
.
.
.
.
Fuck you, you quitters. The mark of a true activist is their grace under fire, their "I get knocked down, but I get up again!" fervor. Statements like "if bush wins, i don't want to be an american citizen" show no balls, tenacity, or true conviction. With that attitude, are you truly surprised Bush is taking another 4 years?
.
At 31 years old, today, I voted for the first time in my life. Against my own mind I followed that little heart voice that only wanted the possibility of some slightly different future. I voted Kerry/Edwards. And you motherfuckers want to jump ship around me because this one didn't go your way.
.
If your name were Rosa Parks, you'd still be sitting in the back of the bus. You suck.
.
_______________________________________________
Get a grip. Lay off the hyperbole. You all are acting like this is the worst event this country has ever had to endure. You're victims of the "I must have everything I want RIGHT NOW and no one else with the tiniest shred of brain could possibly disagree with me' syndrome. How conceited can you get? Both sides are guilty.
The vast majority of the subscriber base of this site is under 30 years of age. I'd wager that the greater part of that number is even under 25 years. I'm an ancient 31, which only means that the earliest presidential election I was eligible to vote in was Clinton in 1992. High stakes, that one. Clinton 1996. Another winner-take-all pivot point in human history. Bush 2000. Whoop. Bush 2004. An election with an actual perceptible bottom line, though still far from the greatest electoral crisis this nation has faced.
This is the first presidential election that those of you as advanced in years, as 22 have been eligible to participate in. Your youthful fervor and lack of life experience has naturally lead you to believe that these times are as bad as it can get; that the outcome of this election will determine the course of your entire life. Your own great-grandparents, still alive today in vast numbers, can tell you about real hard times, circa the Great Depression and World War II, their children and grandchildren during the Korean and Viet Names wars of the 1950's and 1960's. The war in Viet Nam saw one president (Kennedy) assassinated, his vice-president successor (Johnson) declines his party's nomination for a second elected term, and his successor (Nixon) resign under threat of impeachment. These things occurred during a protracted conflict with American involvement from 1961 to 1975 and American casualties of 58,226 killed in action or classified as missing in action. There have been darker days.
.
And you want to quit over one election.
.
And flee the country over one election.
.
Well I say to you that you demonstrate the very heart and soul of a dedicated activist! Yes, when at first you don't get your way, immediately quit and renounce your citizenship. Just like the original American patriots who longed to shuffle loose the coil of England's King George in 1776. Just like the emancipationists who achieved the abolition of slavery during the American Civil War. Just like the Suffragettes who secured the right of women's vote in 1920. Just like the civil rights activists who, in a most inspiring show of steadfastness in the face of insurmountable odds, added the voices of non-white human beings to the rolls of the United States electorate in the 1950's and 1960's. These stalwart pioneer's lesson is clear: if at first you don't succeed, throw a screaming tantrum and give up.
.
Cower then. Shiver and flee in the face of greater odds. You shame the mantle of strength and perseverance lovingly handed down to you by all those men and women who toiled before you, shed blood, sweat, and tears before you, and claimed victory for you to advance the hopeless causes that set fire to their souls.
.
So do it.
.
Just give up.
.
.
.
.
.
Fuck you, you quitters. The mark of a true activist is their grace under fire, their "I get knocked down, but I get up again!" fervor. Statements like "if bush wins, i don't want to be an american citizen" show no balls, tenacity, or true conviction. With that attitude, are you truly surprised Bush is taking another 4 years?
.
At 31 years old, today, I voted for the first time in my life. Against my own mind I followed that little heart voice that only wanted the possibility of some slightly different future. I voted Kerry/Edwards. And you motherfuckers want to jump ship around me because this one didn't go your way.
.
If your name were Rosa Parks, you'd still be sitting in the back of the bus. You suck.
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
[Edited on Nov 06, 2004 4:45PM]
When oh when will the planets
be aligned just so, I ask? Perhaps a bottle of pinot noir will ignite the flame again, sparks will fly, and that magic conflux doth occur.