November 3 and on

Jennifer asks:

So....

How are those Democrat friends of mine holding up?

Jen,

I am sick at heart today, as you might expect. I had high hopes for the election, and the contrary result pains me. I am worried for the future of our country. How will we endure?

How will we endure four more years of a foreign policy that is aggressive and militaristic, even by American standards?

How will we endure four more years of rising inequality, when the administration and the Congress are ideologically committed to domestic programs that ossify and entrench extreme wealth while failing to effectuate any programs that really help the poor?

How will we endure four more years of assaults on our rights and liberties by an executive who has proved to be willing to flaunt the law to achieve his aims?

Senator Kerry called on all of us to unify. I'm sorry, my Republican friends. There are Republicans in America that I could bring myself to unify behind today, but George W. Bush is not one of them. It's not just sour grapes; I haven't drunk the liberal kool-aid. I respect conservatives who believe in fiscal austerity. I respect conservatives who have strong religious beliefs. I don't respect soi-disant conservatives who use fiscal austerity and strong religious beliefs as pretenses to enact a radical pro-corporate agenda.

Count me, reluctantly, among the loyal opposition.

Please forgive my pretentious attempts at eloquence. I am too often a man ruled by his heart and not his mind.