Assuming that all votes were counted, which is a large and possibly utterly false assumption when one compares exit polls versus votes counted, America has spoken and the world will take notice. Americans prefer to deny marriage to gays, but don’t feel the need to stop torturing detainees accused of terrorism (even with no evidence). Americans want jobs, and don’t mind trashing the natural environment to get them. Americans are dominated by some fears — fear of terror, fear of job loss, fear of homosexuality, fear of John Kerry. But Americans remain oblivious to other fears — fear of creating and motivating revenge-minded terrorists, fear of accumulating massive debt, fear of world reaction to American misogyny, fear of loss of constitutional rights.
America spoke and said, we don’t want John Kerry, a Bush imposter, and we want the Real Thing. One has to wonder if Coca-Cola was a sponsor of the Bush campaign. America spoke and said we don’t give a damn about the rest of the world or what the world thinks of us. America spoke and said we are going to have it our way, right or wrong, no matter what the ramifications are.
And there will be ramifications. The rusty heartland will one day figure out (too late) that Bush was really not their friend, and he was perfectly willing to scuttle manufacturing and job growth of high-paying jobs in favor of outsourcing good jobs to be replaced by low-wage jobs and a union-busting regime of corporate-dominated government. Bush will happily wave bye-bye to the family farm and let multi-national agribusiness consolidate their control of American food production. Bush will support the massive transfer of wealth from the hands of the needy to those of the greedy. The natural environment will have to be sacrificed for the sake of the economy, and the economy will eventually totter because a long-term healthy economy cannot be based on a depleted natural environment.
America has spoken. America is willing to trade short-term prosperity for today’s parents and grandparents in exchange for future poverty for the sons and grandsons and daughters and granddaughters. The great grandchildren are not even under consideration and will have to fend for themselves, but the good news is that the inheritance taxes have been dropped to give the great grandchildren of the millionaires and billionaires a fighting chance.
America has spoken, but unfortunately, spoke first and without thinking about what she was saying. America has said to the world — just stand back and watch us unravel, and don’t get in the way. America has said that we prefer bombs to butter and gold to grain and we don’t give a damn about France or even Britain, but we will share to the end with Israel.
And the Bible says: "You reap what you sow." The future is not a pretty one for America.
