Dear Sen. Kerry,
I write to you today about a most urgent matter, your campaign for President. As the presumptive Democratic nominee, I know you are a busy man, so I will be as brief as possible. But I feel I must warn you, I have a lot to say and I really think you should listen.
While I think you can, and hopefully will, make a great president, I am more focused on how it would be unsufferable for our country to endure another four years of Pres. Bush’s “leadership.” Hopefully, a similar concern inspires your own run for the office and will help overcome any slight to your own ego.
I can’t tell you how to win the election. Election strategy is not my thing. For that matter, if I spent too much time dealing with political strategy in general, I would become catatonic. This does not mean that I don’t follow politics, just not in great detail. I have to follow politics if only to keep an eye on the politicians. What I can offer you is motivation to keep going.
Perhaps this would be good time to tell you about myself. Three and a half years ago, I was in a good place. The economy was in a good place. The 2000 campaigns were in full swing. I personally liked Gore and McCain. I thought Bush was joke. I thought there was no way an idiot and failed businessman would be elected. Oops.
Bush entered office and the economy started to tank. You shouldn’t be surprised that I wasn’t surprised. Not that all the corporate fraud was Bush’s fault, but the connections to Enron proved interesting and didn’t do much for the administration’s credibility in their corporate relations. Plus, I was having a hard time thinking of Bush’s successful business ventures. Bush wasn’t doing too well and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Then 9/11 happened.
9/11 was a horrible tragedy, one that joins a long list of tragedies, not all noted by the public consciousness. I credited Bush with handling the situation well in those first few days. However, the war drums could be heard, and not all of us were joining in. I learned very quickly that my dissenting opinion was not welcome. When I discussed the impending military action with my family, I was told not “to get into it” because I was antagonizing my brother and causing tension in the family. Everyone was waving or wearing a flag. “Patriotism” required true citizens to support military action.
Like many others, I wanted justice. But without investigation and disclosure, I didn’t see a reason for military action. My experience was already teaching me that few were interested in this viewpoint. Not everyone was openly hostile, but no one was really listening to what I had to say. As such, I bunkered down, kept quiet and rode out the storm. I wouldn’t even wear items with flags on them for fear that it would indicate to others that I supported war.
In the meantime, Bush’s popularity soared. He was praised for his strong leadership stance and quick military response. He could do no wrong. Whenever someone disagreed with Bush on his policies, he would raise the spector of terrorism to gain support. This became painfully obvious when the First Lady appeared on the Today show to speak on an after school program of the President’s. One of the major reasons to support this program, she argued, was that children who participate in these programs maintain stronger connections to their communities and are less likely to become terrorists. Suddenly, it became obvious that the easiest way for Bush to get approval for his policies was to link them to the fight against terrorism. That’s not leadership, that’s manipulation.
I’ve since found my voice. The flag is a symbol of many things, not a sign of one. Patriotism is love of one’s country not blind obedience of its leader. (I have never been asked for as much blind faith in the Pope as I have the President.) Bush’s efforts have failed to prove the promised results and as such, people now openly question him. Of course with the Patriot Act, I’m sure they are being investigated as anti-American.
If there’s one thing that bothers me most about Pres. Bush, it’s that he treats Americans as if they are gullible. Almost every policy announcement can be traced to an effort to court voters. If we are upset that we haven’t captured Bin Laden, he goes after Hussein. Medicare prescription coverage with privatization keeps the financial support of industry while courting the ever active senior citizen voter group. Pass abortion legislation that has no clauses for rape or life of the mother and watch the Christian right become your lapdog despite the fact that the legislation will get struck down as unconstitutional. What about his proposed immigrant worker program or constitutional ban on gay marriage? Why doesn’t he talk about the millions of jobs lost during his term that haven’t returned with the economic recovery? What about the lives lost in Iraq? Does he ever go into the rollback on civil rights in the Patriot Act? You have to love legislation that claims to preserve the Union by denying rights. That’s a classic. I cringe to think what this man could “accomplish” given another term.
I can’t tell you how to win the race, only why you must and advice for when you take office. Don’t dumb down the issues. Raise the level and quantity of political discourse. Leave the office with the country better for having had you occupy it.
Good luck and God bless,
MiscKaren
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